Discord
by Herpalerp
Summary: When Chase finds himself in a place that's more then a little off, he'll have to figure out how to get back to his true friends and family. But... Would it really be worth it?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone. Yup. This is a new story! I planned on doing another one, but that may just be a oneshot since I'm still busy finishing up Relapse (all the chapters are outlined, just need to write out the details). I'll post a few chapters of this story, but isn't fully drawn out since most efforts are to finish the other story.

Speaking of which, this is separate as far as continuity, and takes place at the end of season 2.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Stop right there!"

"He's getting away!"

"Where did he go?"

"... Over there! I saw a flash of something!"

"... Wait! Chase hold on!"

"Locke! Hurry or we'll lose him!"

 _…._

 _A ripple in the water._

 _A flutter of a wing._

 _What are the things that create discord amongst the free._

 _What are the things that divulge the path and create anew?_

 _….._

Chase woke with a gasp, his body jerking upward and the shaking going on all around him. After a few seconds, it stopped, leaving him panting heavily. It took him a minute, but he was able to steady himself enough to wipe the sweat from his face. As his vision started to clear, he could see stars hovering overhead.

"Oh what a nightmare," he said, realizing how dark it was out, "Jin. Bren. What time is it?"

No response. Blinking, Chase looked up to see that he was actually in a park. It didn't look familiar at all, though it explained why he had a sudden ache in his back. The bench he slept on was way too stiff. How'd he even fall asleep there? In fact, where was he?

"Um... Guys? If this is a prank, you got me," he said, sitting up and putting his feet on the ground. He felt more stable, glancing for some sort of life. The sun was just starting to peak up above the horizon, warming up the sky. Chase shivered, now realizing how cold he was. Did he really just fall asleep in some random park?

He made a move to get up, but found he had moved too fast, and immediately sat back down, holding his head. What was he doing before this... If he remembered right, he and the others had received medals of honor for stopping the Hand of Destiny. Wait. That happened last week. He was reunited with his mother... And then...

He scratched his head, and in the end decided that waiting for someone would be a good solution. At least S.T.O.R.M. will find him soon enough, then he can get back to helping his parents move into the cloud carrier. Or did that happen already? He shook his head.

He stared up at the few stars in the sky. The memory of his nightmare was already fading, and left him wondering why he was so frantic. There was a good chance it was like the others he had earlier, dealing with the Hand of Destiny and losing Locke. But he knew those were just nightmares. The Hand was gone, and Locke came back.

"…"

After a few minutes, he realized that waiting around wouldn't exactly get immediate results (especially if he had been weirdly abducted in the middle of the night). Instead, Chase stood up, stretching his arms high above his head in an attempt to wake up.

"Well... I guess looking around couldn't possibly hurt," he said, then started walking down the path. It looked like it was a popular park, as the path was wide and led to a clearing with a fountain. It just turned on as he came over, with sounds of cars starting to rise. It was only then did he notice the large buildings surrounding him.

"Am I in Axistown?" he asked himself, scratching the back of his neck. He couldn't remember what he did before he woke up. What was he even doing? Maybe he and the others left the cloud carrier to go train or something. By impulse, he reached down for Locke's core. What he found made him freeze.

Or rather, what he didn't find.

He looked down, seeing the empty holsters on his belt.

"Wha-Locke?!" he exclaimed, checking every one of his pockets. He looked back, thinking maybe he dropped it in his sleep. He trailed back to the bench, but couldn't see a trace of any of his cores. He crawled under, thinking it had rolled away.

"Locke? Evo? Babeon?" Chase said, reaching under and feeling for something. He found nothing but dust and a chewed up bottle cap.

Before he could look further, there was a scream. He jerked up, bumping his head on the bench and letting out a pained moan. His first thought was that it was a monsuno attack, and he jumped up immediately. There was the sound of someone laughing, and he knew where to go.

Even without Locke by his side, the thought of a monsuno battle excited him. And maybe whoever screamed accidentally unleashed one of his monsuno. Either way, it was better then standing around.

He ran towards the noise, and then hopped through the trees until he jumped out in the middle of the commotion.

To his surprise, it wasn't a monsuno fight at all.

He stood there, between three men and a woman who was now on the ground. They all appeared to by caught off guard by his appearance, though the woman seemed to be relieved.

"What'd you want punk?" one of the men challenged. Chase stood there dumbly, looking around for a monsuno, or even a core. It didn't even look like one was spun out by the way the path remained intact.

"Hey! He asked you a question!" another one demanded. Chase scratched his head.

"Huh. I thought there was a fight. I guess I was wrong," he muttered to himself. One of the men heard him and gave a look.

"Huuuh? What did you say?" he said, then turned to the leader, "I think this little punk

needs to be taught a lesson."

"I would say so as well," the leader responded. He nodded to the other two, who made their way towards Chase. He grinned to himself.

"Oh. I guess I could show you my ultimate battle skills!" Chase said, reaching for his belt. He froze, remembering how it was empty. Crag.

"You won't be smiling after we're done with you!" one of them shouted and charged forward. Chase sidestepped at the last second, grabbed his arm, and threw him backwards.

He continued to smile. He didn't need monsuno to take on these guys.

The other decided to try charging at him with a roundhouse, and Chase quickly dodged. He brought his knee up to the guy's stomach, knocking the wind right out. The one from the ground quickly launched himself at Chase, and soon they were all on the ground trying to fight to get back up. But even with his smaller body, Chase was able to maneuver himself around much easier then the other two. In the confusion, the others mostly hit at each other.

Within an easy few minutes, Chase had the two on the ground, bruised and battered, barely breaking a sweat himself. The leader blinked with surprise, as if he didn't expect that from the teen. He probably didn't know who he was dealing with after all.

"You know what, forget you two," he said, then motioned for the others to get up. They each gave Chase a nasty look before lurking away. He exhaled deeply, and Chase found himself a bit relieved that he even managed to pull that off as gracefully as he did.

Thank god for Jinja's fighting skills and insistence on hand to hand combat.

"T-thank you so much," the woman said shakily. Chase turned around, remembering her. He held out a hand with a grin. But now that he looked at her, Chase couldn't help

but think that she was oddly familiar, even in the bright neon jogging clothes she wore.

"It was nothing," Chase said, scratching his head. He couldn't help but stare, trying to figure out exactly where he had seen her before, but nothing was coming up. Her dark hair was pulled back, but the only one Chase knew who wore that hairstyle was Tango, but it wasn't her. The woman blinked at him, shifting at his staring.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, noticing that he had a faraway gaze. He shook his head.

"N-No. Just... Happy to see you're alright," he said, putting his hands in his pocket awkwardly, "Actually. Um. Have we met before?"

The woman shook her head, "No. Not that I know of. I'm sure I would've remembered such a cute face."

Chase laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. He never did react withe people he saved. This was a bit awkward, "I-I think I'll just head out now."

The woman blinked, then gave a small laugh, "Of course. Wouldn't want a vigilante like yourself to get caught by the police, especially with your 'ultimate battle skills'."

Chase stared, wide eyed in recognition. He watched as the black haired woman turned with a wave, continuing in the opposite path towards a main road. He could see the sky starting to lighten up, and hear the birds start to chirp. And even as a clock echoed in the distance, he was still in awe at who he had just saved.

…..

Chase walked down the street, dazedly looking at the buildings and the faces that passed by as the sun had risen and now shone high in the sky. He wasn't even sure where he was supposed to be going right now, or even where he was. There weren't any signs that he had seen so far that revealed that, and he was a bit afraid of where this might be.

"Oh look over there! The best ice cream in the east!"

"C'mon, we still need to go to the Central Museum."

"I bet if we hurry, we can catch the noon transit towards the beach!"

Chase listened and watched as people crowded the streets and went their own ways. It seemed like he was in a touristy side of the city, which was a good enough place to start. If anything, all he needed to do was find the others, and then figure out what was going on. Hell, maybe they had his monsuno and he somehow got separated from them. Then they could all have a laugh and maybe enjoy this city.

And maybe he was just imagining the mercenary he met earlier that morning.

Another tremor went through the ground, making everyone stop in their tracks. Chase looked around in alarm with everyone else, but it only lasted a few seconds. Most of the people found some relief, while the ones who were more concerned with getting somewhere ignored it completely.

Chase stood there for a second. What was that? Was it the monsuno energy again? He thought his father managed to get it all settled and there wasn't a chance of it destroying the earth. But then again, things with monsuno were always unpredictable.

Slowly, he made his way through one of the busier crosswalks, hardly paying any attention. His steps slowed as he tried to replay events before he had woken up in the park. Slowly, he started remembered hearing voices. But. Who's were they? He remembered everyone shouting at him, and holding onto Locke's core. Why was everything blank after that?

He looked up towards one of the large billboard screens, coming to a stop as he tried to empty his mind. He saw a woman trying to advertise some sort of home product, a smile plastered on her face. Maybe he could find a pay phone somewhere, but then again he had no clue who to call. As the commercial came to a close and the company started to show off it's name, he froze as realization dawned on him

On the center of the advertised object (which was a blender for some reason) and on the billboard itself, was the insignia for Eklipse.

Chase took a step back, becoming hyper aware of the fact that the Eklipse symbol was on all types of things. Everywhere he looked, and on almost everything around him. Eklipse.

What was going on?!

A car horn blared. Chase snapped out of his daze to see a few cars now heading towards him, the crosswalk completely deserted. He didn't have time to turn and get out of the way, and could only watch as it went straight for him.

"Look out!"

An arm reached out and yanked him off his feet and out of the street. Chase watched as the cars continued on without missing a beat. He was instantly dizzy, and tried to fight off the urge to throw up as he continued to look around as see Eklipse symbols around the city. Did Klipse somehow take over the whole place? But how? Maybe that was why he was there in the first place-

"Oi kid! Don't you know better then to stand in the middle of the road?!"

He looked up, already knowing who was speaking to him and feeling lightheaded again. A man with short hair looked down at him, a frown sinking his lips.

"Trey?!" Chase exclaimed, not having any strength in his legs. It was the commander alright. Just... Not how he recognized.

"That's officer to you kid," he said, then raised a brow, "Have we even met? You don't look familiar."

"N-No. We haven't. I just recognized you from the- uh. News," Chase stammered, rising slowly. He saw the new attire that the old commander wore: a pristine officer uniform, but not one of S.T.O.R.M.. Just a regular city policeman.

Trey seemed to like the comment, and grinned to himself.

"Well. I'm glad someone recognizes my abilities. It does good to help the innocent," he said, somewhat boastful. He grew serious, "However. It's 11:24 on a tuesday. What are you doing out?"

"What do you mean? I'm always out. And what are you doing here? Did Jon send you out to do 'civilian work'?" Chase joked. Trey gave him a look, then grabbed him by the back of his jacket and dragged him to the street, "H-Hey! What's the big deal?"

"I'm guessing you're playing dumb to get out of trouble. Too bad you ran into me," Trey said, opening a door to the nearby police car and shoving Chase in rather roughly. He locked it, sitting in the driver's side and taking off.

"W-Where are we going? You know abducting people is illegal," Chase said, trying to look outside and find anything familiar.

"It's not abduction if the kid is playing hooky from school," Trey said. Chase panicked even more, and started tugging at the door. For some reason, Trey was now a regular cop, taking him to the local police station, possibly going to get him detained. Did he go back in time or something? When he looked towards the radio, Chase could see that the date was right, so why was everything wrong? Why was Eklipse now trying to advertise cookware?! Why was Madea out for a late night jog?!

"But don't worry," Trey continued, looking in the mirror at Chase's panicked face, "We'll get a hold of your parents down at the station and have this whole thing sorted out."

At the comment, Chase felt a bit more relieved. His parents. As soon as Trey found out who he was, the whole thing would be sorted out. And then maybe he could get some answers to this crazy town.

…..

Shockingly, Chase didn't have a record.

Scratch that. He didn't have a record of anything.

As he sat in the office (as one of the officers said he shouldn't wait in a cell), Chase found himself in disbelief of the records that were inexistent.

No mention of his escapades of fighting monsuno or causing destruction, which he knew for a fact that he was involved in. No mention of his award given by S.T.O.R.M. for stopping the Hand of Destiny (which was obvious seeing that Trey was now sitting behind a pile of regular paperwork). No mention of any sightings of strange creatures.

Everything was just... Normal.

"Alright. Just got a hold of your parents," the secretary said, who wasn't familiar and made him somewhat relieved, "They'll be down shortly."

Chase nodded. When he gave his last name, someone in the station realized who he was and decided to phone his parents.

He let out a sigh. His parents... Were they his parents? What if they were someone else? What if it was someone like Drezz. Or Dom Pyro. Or -god forbid- Charlemagne. Chase felt lightheaded again.

"Do you need some water dear?"

"No. I'll be alright," Chase responded, sinking back into his chair and staring blankly ahead at the rows of desks and officers. Maybe this was some sort of dream. Or vision. Or computer hologram program. He would just have to wait and hope that he'd see someone else familiar that was more on the friendly side. Maybe the others were also somewhere in the town and they all agreed to go through it like last time...

The secretary's phone rang, and she picked it up daintily. She made a few 'hmms' and yeses, and finally dropped it back down.

"Your parent is at the front," she said, quickly writing something down. Chase nodded, and rose up. Before he could even take the first step, he stared ahead at the person just a few feet away.

A familiar face that was one of the last he was expecting to see.

Droog.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to Glowblades998, ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, monsuno lover, and gear25 for the reviews. (actually very relieved that people are interested considering this will be a change from what else I've written).

Chase's made up house here is based more on london houses, which are usually scrunched up together but are tall with more then one floor. (and my beta described a house she went to and I couldn't help but look up what they looked like). If anyone was curious since describing it was a bit hard.

Enjoy!

* * *

Even though their interaction was very brief, there was something that was strange about the man name Droog. He was quiet, but knowing, and had an air to him that could only be described as peculiar. Almost as if he knew more about monsuno then he was letting on, and was only really trying to help out of necessity rather then kindness (like most of their enemies). He seemed trustworthy enough at first, but now...

Chase stared ahead, already knowing that this wasn't like the times he saw Madea or Trey. There was clear recognition in Droog's eyes as he stared blankly back at Chase. He looked the same, clean suit and haircut, lips in a frown with an unreadable, hollow expression. Chase shivered.

Before Chase could blink, he was gone. Vanishing from view as an officer crossed his vision.

"Wha-"

"Chase!"

He gasped, then turned towards the entrance as a pair of arms wrapped around him. He instantly recognized the feeling, and relief wafted through him. Sophia let him go, taking his shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"Just what are you doing out of school young man!" she said sternly. He flinched at the mother tone she had, "You know better then to be out and about right now. And I heard you almost got ran over? And... What are you wearing?"

Chase blinked, trying to sort through her words. He looked down, unsure of what she meant. She let out a sigh at his silence.

"I suppose we can deal with it once your father gets home," she said, then started to head for the entrance. Chase followed along, glancing back where he had seen Droog. He had a feeling the strange man had something to do with the happenings in the city. At least his mother was still the same, even in appearance.

She thanked Trey on the way out (who gave another smile at the compliment), and the two climbed into the car. Chase felt around the interior, now wondering if this was some sort of hologram. He remembered his father had installed a safety switch since Beyal ended up having nightmares after the 'end of the monsuno' incident, which meant that maybe he just needed to find it or get a jolt to wake up. But seeing that he nearly got ran over and had a 'mild' panic attack at the sight of Eklipse-brand-everything, that small jolt probably wasn't going to work. He'd need something bigger...

"... Chase? You've been rather quiet," Sophia said as they crossed into a neighborhood, "Did... Something happen at school?"

"What? Um. No. Nothing at all," Chase said, trying to play into his role the best he could (if this was a simulation, sometimes the best thing to do was just go with it). Now that he thought about it, he never actually got to finish school. He left towards the end of sophomore year of high school, and even then he was too busy worrying about his father to care much about his studies. He was planning on going back, but with Jon asking him to stay in S.T.O.R.M., that was going to be unlikely. (and he wasn't about to try and catch up with a year and a half of school work).

"Well... Anyway," Sophia continued, "I guess you're probably feeling a bit tired, so you can sleep it off until dinner."

They drove through the small neighborhood until they came up to a small three story house. There was barely a yard, seeing that they were in the middle of the city, and enough room in the drive way for their single car. Chase climbed out slowly, gazing up at the place. He never actually stayed within a regular home in years, mostly staying with his aunt who he was convinced he wasn't really related to. Their home, a small apartment on the outskirts of the city that he and Jinja lived in, could hardly be considered a welcoming place, especially considering he was dropped off there by his father before disappearing. But this place. _This_ was a true home.

"... Chase are you alright?"

He looked over, shaking his head. Sophia didn't look convinced, raised a concerned brow.

"I think you ought to go lie down," she said, then went inside. Chase followed after her, taking note of the pristine white paint on the door and outside walls as he was ushered into his home.

….

Chase was surprised that the inside was actually very familiar. But not in the jarring way of meeting Trey or Madea, but a comforting way. The walls had neatly placed photo frames, showing off the events throughout the years, even including family members that Chase never saw before. The living room area was what he could only describe as organized clutter, with the bookshelves brimming with a variety of old and new books. A sofa and a few chairs sat around an electronic fireplace as a large window looked out to the front. He walked past that and the staircase further down the hall.

Sophia was busying herself with a kettle, moving around the island in the middle of the kitchen towards the stovetop. Further was the dining table that had an outlook of the small backyard, which was a small garden, that was viewable through the large screen doors.

His mother hardly paid any attention to him, which was a bit surprising to him. He didn't let it bother him, and instead went up the staircase. He could feel how soft the carpet was through his socks, and sighed in relief. The second floor held a bathroom and bedroom. He could see more pictures, as well as some suits in the closet. This was probably his parents' bedroom. He continued up the stairs to the third floor.

The last floor was a single room. His room. Chase stood in the doorway, letting his eyes take in the place. It was a bit strange. He had never been here before, but it still felt familiar.

There was a large window that looked out towards the city, letting a soft glow inside. The white walls were covered in posters and photos that ranged from friends to random scenes to bands he had never heard of. A desk was in the corner, with what seemed like a variety of doodads and mechanical tools. He never thought of himself as a mechanic, but maybe it was different here (the scenarios his father came up with were rather strange sometimes). There were two doors towards the far side, one of which he saw was a hidden bathroom. His eyes landed on the inviting bed, and couldn't help but wonder how comfy it really was.

Without another word, Chase plopped down on the plush pillows with a sigh. The navy blue covers smelt like spring flowers, which he found surprisingly pleasant. He was somewhat convinced that this was real, but maybe that would change after a short nap. That could be the easiest way out after all ...

…..

 _"And remember. This mission is critical. It will be the first one your team goes out on since the incident with the Hand of Destiny."_

 _"I know! I know! Don't worry about that Jon."_

 _"We're being serious Chase. This might be something big- don't roll you're eyes at me."_

 _"Im sorry! It's just that we've been through so much already. I doubt there's anything that could surprise us by now."_

 _"Yeah. Don't sweat it Doc. We got our monsuno with us after all."_

 _"See? We'll be fine!"_

 _"…"_

 _"What is it dad?"_

 _"Chase. Can I talk to you alone for a second?"_

 _"Sure. Hold on guys."_

 _…._

 _What can be discovered in a new path._

 _What can be missed from the old path._

 _….._

"Chase! Are you awake up there!"

He woke up, finding drool had now piled onto his pillow. Chase let out a yawn, cracking his back as he stretched out. Considering the amount of times he had to camp out, there was something about an actual bed that was ever so wonderful.

But he still found himself in the room from before.

He let out a sigh. This wasn't a dream. Which meant...

"Chase!"

"Y-yeah! I'm coming!" he shouted, and ran downstairs. Sophia was in the kitchen, and peeked out when she heard him.

"Your friends are at the door," she said. Chase perked up. Did she mean-

He ran to the door, shoving his boots on as fast as he could. He jerked the door open, a smile quickly spread across his face at the familiar pair.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Bren asked. Chase ran out and practically hopped the fence.

"Jin! Bren!" he exclaimed. Chase felt a rush of excitement from seeing two familiar faces. The two he could count on the most. Finally, he could get some real answers and they could get out of here!

"So? Where were you" Jinja said immediately, a hand on her hip.

"You have no idea," he sighed, then stood up straighter. It was only then that he noticed the slight differences in the two that suddenly made him unsure about this.

"Woah. Nice duds," Bren said, "I bet you just left school to go shopping right? I should've guessed by your message earlier."

Chase raised a brow, then looked down at himself. He couldn't understand why people were pointing out his appearance until he saw what the other two were wearing. Bren was wearing a pair of black slacks, a white button up and blue blazer with white trim along the edges. Jinja wore the same, except she was wearing a black skirt (something that was making Chase extremely uncomfortable with seeing). A logo of a school was embellished on the top breast pocket of the jackets. It only took Chase a second to recognize it as the Core Tech logo.

"... Well?" Jinja said.

"Well what?" Chase said faintly.

She rolled her eyes, "Well, what have you been doing all day? You never showed up to class today, and you never skip."

"Um... Except that I do?" Chase said, raising a brow. He and Jinja had gone to the same school, which was why he was able to convince her to come with him so easily to find his father. That and she knew that he wasn't the best student. Wait. Why was even trying to reason this? He shook his head.

"That's not important," he said, "Where are my monsuno? I couldn't find them earlier when I woke up in the park. And Madea and Trey were. Well. Normal. And what's with Eklipse symbols everywhere? Did he give up on the monsuno game? Or that just part of the simulation?"

Both Jinja and Bren gave him extremely confused looks. Bren cleared his throat.

"You woke up in a park?" he said, "Did you hit your head or something?"

Chase's shoulders sagged, "No. I... Just give me my monsuno. Something weird is going on here and we need to get to the bottom of things-"

"Chase slow down! You're not making any sense. What are 'monsuno'?"

He slowly looked at the two, seeing honesty and concern in both of their faces (though at this point it was starting to turn into panic). He threw his hands into his hair, ruffling it in frustration. What the crag was going on! His dad wouldn't have programed these two in. Right?

"How could you guys have forgotten? Don't you remember the work that my father had done? Or even what we had gone through in the past year? Bren. Don't you remember Quickforce?"

Bren gave him a look, "If you're talking about the program I made in class. Yes I do remember it," he said, then folded his arms with a huff, "It took a while to debug it after Oliver decided to mess with it."

"Chase are you feeling okay? You wanna go lie down?" Jinja asked, trying to feel his forehead. He batted her hand away. Okay. So his two childhood friends had no recollection of the monsuno. So he'd just have to find someone else.

He took a looong breath. If these two didn't know about monsuno, then there had to be someone here that knew about it. That was the whole point of the simulations his father made. It wasn't even possible to wipe them from the programs. Whatever. He just needed to find someone else who would have a better idea.

"How about we just go find Beyal and Dax. I'm sure that they have my monsuno," he said, then started to head for the sidewalk. He quickly realized they weren't following, and turned around. The two of them looked at each other.

"Chase... Who are you talking about?"

Chase stood there, looking between the two. Now their expressions seemed to be completely concerned. But that wasn't what bothered him.

How could they forget?

"… Well? Who's Beyal and Dax?" Jinja asked.

"Don't tell me you found new friends," Bren joked.

Chase stood there, shell shocked. He felt himself holding his breath, and had to steady himself to try not to worry the other two. But how could he? How could they...?

"... Chase? Are you okay?" Jinja asked, "Seriously though. Who are you talking about?"

"I already said that it was his new friends he made," Bren sighed sarcastically, "I swear it was like you were leading a secret life without us or something."

He looked back and forth between the two, trying to gauge if they were pulling a fast one on him. But they weren't. Why would they? If this was a joke, then obviously someone would've said something before he nearly turned into a pancake earlier by a car. He quickly blinked a few times, trying to calm down.

"Y-yeah! Ha ha! a good joke right?" Chase said, scratching the back of his head with a laugh, "Anyway. I guess you guys ought to catch me up on the homework right?"

"That's true," Jinja said, putting a finger to her lip in thought, "I think this is the first time someone else has to give you help."

"First time for everything I suppose," Bren said, "Speaking of which! I say we go down to the new burger stand down the road! All this excitement got me hungry!"

"Except you're always hungry Bren," Jinja sighed, then followed him down the street. Chase tailed behind them, his smile slowly fading as his thoughts traveled elsewhere.

Okay. So apparently he had come into some sort of hologram where no one had any idea what monsuno were, even Bren and Jinja. It was almost as if monsuno hadn't even existed-

He stopped. Letting Bren and Jinja walk ahead.

Of course. That was the answer! That explained why he had a normal life, and why everything else was so different. Everyone he ever knew had been affected by monsuno, and of course would lead different lives if they never were. Wait. Did that mean monsuno essence was never a thing? Then what about the huge tremors that had gone through a few hours ago? And why would anyone want him to go through something like this?...

"... Chase?"

He shook his head, "Coming!"

He followed along behind, knowing that if he acted too weird, then that might send off the wrong type of messages. And he didn't want those two to worry, even if they technically weren't Bren and Jinja. Still, he needed to find out where the way out of this hologram was. Only then could he get to the bottom of things of why he was even there.

But... Where to start?

He stopped, biting his thumb in thought. If Droog was here, then it had to probably do with him. And if Jinja and Bren couldn't remember anything about monsuno, then they were probably part of the program. In which case, there was a good chance he was there on his own...

He shuddered. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck somewhere without monsuno and his friends (with Droog of all people). He shook his head. That didn't matter. If he needed to track down that creep, he would, if only to find the way out of this weird hologram-dream.

…..

The afternoon was beyond normal. It was _extra_ normal, and that was something that was making Chase on edge even more then the thought of being tracked down by S.T.O.R.M. for the past few years.

After they left his 'house', Jinja and Bren brought him down to the small hole in the wall burger place. It was small, with the faint sound of pop music playing in the background. With all the excitement, Chase failed to realize just how hungry he was. Without hesitating he went ahead and order almost one of everything, failing to remember that he didn't have any money. But if there was one thing that hadn't changed, was Jinja's ability to cover for him.

"Is this the new single that just came out?" Bren said, helping himself to another burger.

"Probably. I heard this band is coming to the city soon. We ought to get tickets," Jinja said, grimacing as she got to the end of the receipt in her hands. She looked back up at them with sigh, "You really ought to pace yourselves. The last thing you need is to throw up again Bren."

"What? What's wrong with trying to pack in a few pounds?" he said, holding his hands up. Jinja immediately smirked.

"Oh I don't know. I'm sure your little pen pal Jun would say otherwise," she said. Bren started choking on his drink.

"Y-you keep her out of this!" he stuttered. Chase couldn't help but laugh. Even as a simulation, he had to admit they were still the same. Jinja noticed his laugh, and he expression got serious again.

"… Seriously though. You never eat this much," she said, side-eyeing both him and Bren.

"I dunno, Jinja. I would say that's not a bad thing at all," Bren said, eagerly shoving a handful of fries into his mouth. Chase watched the pair, nibbling on a burger as he watched them. He had to admit, there was just something off about the two of them. And as much as Chase kept telling himself this was a hologram, there was something unsettling about how similar they were (his father never could program any of them into the computer right).

For one thing, they were exactly the same as he remembered, down to how he and Jinja interacted in school before leaving. That was something his father could _never_ know.

Chase caught Jinja's eye for the fifth time, who immediately looked to the side.

"... What is it Jin?" he asked, balling up a wrapper and throwing it on the ever growing pile.

"It's. It's nothing," she said, then shifted in her seat, "... Actually. What's up with you? Since when do you eat everything on a menu? The last time I checked you were on a diet."

Chase raised a brow before letting out a snort, "The last time I heard 'diet' was when my dad tried going on protein shakes for his job. This is pretty normal."

Jinja frowned. She was looking at him with a suspicious look, and he couldn't help but shift in his seat. Bren looked back and forth between them. He cleared his throat.

"H-hey! Um. Why don't we go to my house!" he squeaked, "I bet my program is finally up and running. Plus I can show you my new chess set for the tournament this week-"

Chase got up, unable to deal with that stare.

"No thanks. I think I'll head home," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He gave them a wave and walked right out the door. He turned the corner, and immediately hid behind the corner. A few minutes later, Jinja and Bren walked outside.

"-Seriously though. There's something wrong with him," Jinja said.

"I'll admit he's never done something like this," Bren said with a sigh, "But I'm sure he's just having a rough day. You know that his dad's finally coming home today from that business trip. He gets weird when that happens."

Chase inhaled sharply. His dad! Of course! Why didn't he think about it sooner! Of all the people who's still remember monsuno it'd have to be him! He _had_ to know how to get out of here.

"-he better show up to school tomorrow. The last thing we need is to bring up another excuse."

Chase waited for the two of them to leave, trying to calm his nerves as he did. Best case scenario, he would go home, find out where his dad was, and then find out why he was there. And more importantly, find out what Droog is up to-

Suddenly, the wall he was leaning against started to shake. At first he thought he slipped and was falling, but he found that the whole ground was shaking. It was another earthquake.

It was over within a few seconds, and left him looking around. This was obviously a side effect of some sort (maybe it was a bug?). He shook his head, walking back up the street to his 'house.'

Along the way, he couldn't help but try and remember what he was doing prior to waking up in the park. There were voices, and... They were going after someone... He must've gotten separated, since Bren and Jinja weren't the real ones (unless something happened to them). But... Who were they going after?

He shook his head. He really needed to get to the bottom of this. If he got separated from the others, then there was a good chance they were still running around trying to find whoever they were going after. Or they were running around somewhere in the city looking for him.

...

"Chase? Is that you?"

He shut the door behind him. Slipping his boots off with a sigh. Immediately he noticed the extra pair of shoes. That could only mean-

"Chase? Are you there?"

"Y-yeah! I'm coming," he said, running into the kitchen. He stopped as soon as he got through the doorway.

One of the things he often carried with him was an old photograph that depicted him and his family when he was a baby. Before everything monsuno started problems. It was also the only time that he had seen his father in a suit before now.

To say the least, it at least looked good. Just... Not what he was expecting.

For one thing, Jeredy's ruffled locks were now clean cut, obviously needing to be for whatever job he needed a suit for. He was sitting there at the table hardly paying any attention to the other two, a paper in between his hands. This sure was a sight that Chase never thought he'd get to see.

Jeredy noticed him staring from the doorway and raised a brow.

"Is there something you wanted Chase?"

Numbly, he shook his head. He tried to tell himself that this was his father, and that he needed to say something. But it seemed like he lost his voice. Both his parents looked at him as if he were the odd one out, until Jeredy finally let out a sigh, ruffling the paper in his hands.

"Well then stop standing there and come to the table. Your mother prepared dinner, and you have school in the morning."

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to monsuno lover, monsuno power, and 36-children-of-the-mind for the reviews. This project it going mostly un-beta-ed, so if the format gets messed up or if spelling errors are everywhere, that's why.

Enjoy!

* * *

The dinner was, to say the least, tense. All the plates and silverware were in place. Glasses were polished and filled. Bowls with a variety of cooked vegetables and fruits were laid out. And in Chase's opinion, what a normal family dinner would be. But this wasn't normal. Not for him.

"-And there were a few problems with the Forge project that's going to set us back a whole week. But I'm sure we'll find the problem by this weekend," Jeredy said, taking a large swig of coffee. Sophia nodded, picking through the salad on her plate. She noticed Chase's stare, and looked down at his plate.

"... Son are you okay?" she asked, "You've hardly touched anything."

"It's probably another diet his coach put him on," Jeredy sighed, "I swear that man can't figure it out that kids just need to eat everything. Just look at Jon."

Sophia let out a giggle, and Chase looked back and forth between them. He took a breath, gaining some courage of asking the same question he posed to Jinja and Bren just an hour ago. But he'd have to go slow, just in case.

"Hey dad," he said, "have you noticed anything odd around here?"

Jeredy raised a brow, lowering his mug slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Like something out of place? Like something different?" Chase asked. He first needed to see if this really was a hologram. From what he understood, there had to be a glitch somewhere that would give away the key out of here. And of all people who would give a hint, it would be his father.

"... The only thing that I see different is that jacket you're wearing," Jeredy said with a raised brow, "Don't tell me you borrowed something from your friends. You better remember to return that. You have plenty of clothes."

Chase raised a brow, and small hurt feeling rising in his chest. Even if he was a hologram, his father should've known that his blue jacket was a present given just before the older disappeared. The detachment in his voice made Chase feel downright uncomfortable.

"Where did you get that? Did you end up joining another team at the school?" Sophia asked, "Oh. I'm so proud of you-" She stopped, her face hardening for a brief moment, then looked over to Jeredy. She paused for a second the continued, "Speaking of which. I believe Chase has something to tell you."

"I do?" Chase said, nibbling on a carrot. Sophia shot him a look, then motioned to Jeredy. He shrugged, unsure of what she wanted. She rolled her eyes.

"It seemed that your son never went to school today," she said. Jeredy nearly choked on a potato, coughing a brief moment before turning to Chase with a serious look. He had never seen his father look at him that way, and it wasn't a reassuring feeling.

"What do you mean? Son. Did you skip school?" he said sternly. Chase couldn't help but swallow hard. The look he was giving was something that Chase remembered getting when he was five. But at the same time, this wasn't exactly his father. In fact, he was pretty convinced that the two of them weren't really his parents in any sense of the word.

"... Yeah. I did," Chase said, letting his gaze fall, "And I'm really _really_ sorry for doing that."

Sophia's eyes softened, and she turned to her husband. Jeredy let out a hum.

"I suppose as long as you're sorry. And you haven't done something like that before..." Jeredy said, "I guess as long as you catch up with your work, you're excused."

"Actually. I think I'll go right now," Chase said, quickly getting up from the table and picking up his empty plate, "Umm... But before I go. Dad. What is... Monsuno?"

Jeredy looked up from his cup of coffee with a raised brow. He let out a laugh.

"Don't tell me it's another one of those video games you're into. Do a few extra chores and I'm sure you can get it when it's released," he said, then went back to his plate of food. Chase continued to stare, nearly losing the grip on the plate he held.

How could his father- the creator of monsuno- completely forget about them? Even a single mention should've set something off, especially since most of the time Jeredy was the way of getting out of the hologram simulations.

Chase numbly placed his plate by the sink and went for the door. He walked slowly, listening to the two's voices as they trailed out of the room.

"... Did he seem a bit off to you?"

"It's just the hormones honey. He'll be fine once he gets out into the real world."

Chase slipped his boots on and walked out the door. He had to take a steading breath. The conversations they were having. The things they were talking about. It was all too... Normal.

It wasn't a dream, his close call from earlier was enough to convince him of that. Chase bit his hand just to be sure. He winced, feeling it go numb for a second. Pain wasn't the solution to this.

And if it was a simulation, it would be a hard time figuring out where the way out was if his father _wasn't_ the solution. The whole meal Chase had been carefully watching to see if Jeredy made some sort of signal or move that alerted the other, just in case Droog had trapped both of them in a simulation. With that last comment, however, told him that wasn't the case. He would just have to find someone else, or at least find someone who would know where he was-

Chase stopped. At the end of the street he saw him again, standing with the same black suit and empty expression. Droog.

Without a word, their eyes met for a brief moment before the man turned and started to walk away.

"H-Hey!" Chase exclaimed, and started to run after. He didn't take his eyes off the man, not even daring to blink. For some reason, he found it hard to keep up with him. Still, he wasn't about to give up on finding out the answers to all this craziness.

"Get back here!"

They had reached the main street of town again where he was just having a casual meal with Jinja and Bren. Droog turned the corner as they reached a busier street. As soon as Chase did the same, he ended up bumping into someone.

"S-Sorry!" he said hastily, not bothering to stop even as he heard the person curse at him. As Droog quickly shifted into the crowd and further away, Chase tried following, finding it hard as the streets got more crowded. And soon, he lost sight of the man completely.

"Ah, crag," he sighed. He stood at a corner, trying to see if he could make out where the man could've gone. Shoulders slumping in defeat, Chase turned all around to find his way. He bumped into someone again, mumbling an apology as he stepped out of the way and against one of the walls of the buildings. He stayed like that, watching as the crowd looked all around for a familiar face. Nothing.

Chase let out a sigh, "I… Guess I should head back home-"

He immediately stopped at that. Home. Was that really where he was going? Sure it was where his parents were, but at the same time, they weren't really _his_ parents. Still, what good would it do to wander around the city looking blindly for some sort of sign.

He put a thumb to his chin in thought. Where exactly could he even start his search? Bren and Jinja were obviously no help, and he had seen his own house that had nothing familiar in it. There had to be something that would give him an idea of where to go-

"Stop! Thief!"

The sound of a door slamming and shouting made Chase look up to one of the shops on his left. He watched briefly as a person ran out and down the street past him, holding a small duffel bag in their hands. He blinked dumbly, quickly turned to see the shop keep run out, and then charged after.

"H-Hey you!" He shouted and started to run. As he took a few steps, someone jumped out of the alley and kicked the thief to the ground.

The thief gasped, falling while clutching their face. The other person, who was dressed in all black with a hood drawn up, immediately picked up the bag that was dropped. After a quick glance inside, they ran back down the alley. Chase stopped for a second to look down at the thief to see that they were still cringing in pain. He glanced back up to the see the other person fleeing into the darkness.

"Hold it!" Chase shouted, now running after the newcomer. He turned the corner, barely catching a flash of the person as they ran through to the other street. He growled, charging after. Maybe it was a combination of his frustration and sense of justice, but right now all he wanted to do was pummel the nearest villain (a thief was hardly a villain, but he could deal with what he had).

He quickly caught up to the new thief, who picked up the pace at Chase's presence. When they turned down another alley, the person stopped abruptly at the dead end. Chase let out a gasp, heels skidding as he crashed into them.

Chase let out a groan, then scrambled to grab the bag away. When he did, he let out a triumphant laugh.

"Got it!" he exclaimed, nearly wanting to peek inside to see what the big deal was. His curiosity quickly got the better of him, and he looked in to see an assortment of green gems and jewels. The person below him let out a groan, getting back his attention. When Chase glanced down, he could see hair peeking out from beneath their hood. He let out a small gasp. It couldn't be-

The person regained some sense, and tried getting up to run. Chase quickly grabbed their shoulders, forcing them back down and getting ontop. They let out a small sound of protest before managing to twist around to face Chase. Within the motion, their hood fell away, revealing the white hair that was visible even in the shadows. Chase's heart stopped.

"… Beyal?"

 _…._

There was only one instance where Chase thought that the young white haired monk of their group could be considered a threat. And that was during their first few minutes of meeting him and being told by the bookman that he was dangerous. He didn't understand why, and thought it was silly to even think that after traveling for so long with the monk. But now, in this weird messed up world, maybe that wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

"How do you know my name?" Beyal demanded as he sat up. Chase snapped out of his daze, quickly blinking away his stupor.

"Ah-Um… Lucky guess?" he shrugged. Obviously that was a lame excuse, but what was he supposed to say that wouldn't make him look crazy? He needed people to trust him to get to the bottom of things. And unfortunately, shouting 'monsuno' at everything wasn't going to be the solution.

Beyal quirked a brow, "… You're lying. Tell me the truth."

"Uh. That is the truth…?" Chase shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact. He couldn't help but wonder why the other was like this. Bren and Jinja were the same. And while his parent's weren't how he remembered, they were still his parents. So why was Beyal different?

"Then why doesn't it sound like it?" Beyal asked, crossing his arms, "Not a lot of people know who I am, and you don't look like someone who pays much attention of anything… So. How do you know me?"

Chase finally looked at the other, seeing a familiar glint in his eyes. Even though he just aw Beyal kick that other guy square in the jaw, there was still that calm presence that was reassuring and made him feel comfortable after the entire exhausting day.

And that's probably why his mouth suddenly inhaled sharply and started to talk without him thinking.

"So me and my friends were looking across the world to find my father who's the creator of these strange creatures called monsuno while also being hunted down by the army and other scientists and he ended up going missing because of it and gave me my first monsuno called Locke and my friends got their own monsuno and you had your monsuno and then we met this guy named Dax who also had monsuno and we all ended up having to travel around the world to stop the energy from tearing apart the Earth while also trying to find my dad who honestly just never told me anything about anything and only recently started telling me everything including about my dead mother who's not really dead and that monsuno are supposed to be the key to our survival against all of our enemies including an evil cult, a bunch of assassins, the army, and a guy who used my DNA to make a clone and thisisallsoundingreallyinsanebutthat'sthetruth and- and..."

Chase clenched his eyes shut, panting while realizing the amount of information that he just unloaded was beyond insane (not to mention how he practically started shouting towards the end). He waited for the inevitable response that was given to him by his parents and friends, and for the other teen to turn tail and run. Nothing was said, and Chase peeked out of one eye to see Beyal giving him a surprised look.

"… You know about them too?"

…..

 _"Son. I want you to know that you need to be careful."_

 _"Aren't I always? It's no big deal! This mission will be nice and easy-"_

 _"No. That's not what I'm talking about…"_

 _"…"_

 _"… What is it dad?"_

 _"… Well. It's about Locke. You know what happened after your battle with the Hand of Destiny. Well. I need some time to figure out what happened."_

 _"Okay…? Well. You can look at him after the mission. He's my partner after all. I'm sure he can be spun out just fine."_

 _"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. For this mission, I think it would be better to leave Locke here for me to run some tests…"_

 _"What?! But… Why? He seems alright to me…"_

 _"But that's the thing. I just want to make sure in case something happens on the mission. Klipse is still out there after all. And even though Charlemagne is no longer in charge of S.T.O.R.M., we can't take any chances. Not when we-"_

 _"Dad. It's okay. I get it. Just… Can I bring him along? I won't spin him out I promise! It… Would just feel weird to be without him…"_

 _"… Alright. But come back here as soon as you can."_

…..

There was the faint sound of police sirens in the distance that was approaching quickly. But for some reason, they were getting fainter to Chase. He sat there, shoulders slumped in shock. Beyal saw this, and waved his hand in front of his eyes.

"Hey. Um… Are you okay?"

Chase snapped out of his stupor (again), and quickly shook his head. He grabbed the other's shoulders, "Y-You know what I'm talking about? About monsuno right?"

Beyal shifted uncomfortably in his grasp, nodding a bit. Chase's face quickly lit up. But he still didn't want to get his hopes up. Calming down a bit, he let go and sat back.

"Okay. So. What exactly do you know? Is it just monsuno? Or did anything I say sound remotely familiar?"

The white-haired teen frowned, giving Chase a suspicious look. It was almost as if he was trying to figure out if Chase was being truthful. After a minute, he let out a sigh.

"… I… Know what monsuno are," he said slowly, then started looking to the ground, "Except I-"

Suddenly, a car turned down the alley, headlights flooding the darkness and illuminating the area. Chase winced, blocking the light as he was blinded briefly. The car doors opened, and he heard a small gasp.

"Oh thank goodness I found you!" A voice chimed in. Chase looked up to see someone quickly run over to Beyal, dragging him back up to his feet. It was a feminine figure dressed similarly as Beyal in all black, except with dark shades and a cap. It took him a few seconds, but he quickly recognized the person as the mute woman from the Desert Wolves.

"What are you doing here?" Beyal groaned, trying to get out of her grasp. Bekka raised a brow, then let out a sigh.

"You can't expect me to just notice you leave as soon as we got here. And why are you trying to sneak around when I told you to stay at the hotel? And… Who's this?"

Chase blinked dumbly, realizing that they were now both looking at him.

"Uh… I uh-"

"Great. Another one. That's just what we needed," Bekka sighed, then snapped her fingers. A man came out of the car and walked right up to Chase. he helped the teen up to his feet, but he didn't recognize who it was. Before Chase knew it, the man handed him a small wad of cash and pushed him away. He watched as Bekka grabbed Beyal's arm again and started pulling him to the car. They caught each other's gaze for a second, and Beyal hesitated.

"... Hold on," he said, "That guy. He knows about monsuno too!"

Bekka stopped, then looked back to Chase with wide eyes. He felt his breath hitch, a little hopeful that perhaps someone else knew what he was talking about and would be helpful. It was then that he remembered that Bekka was Master Ey's daughter. Of all the people in the world, they would be the ones to know everything about monsuno and give him the clearest explanation of what was going on.

Unfortunately, her reaction was the opposite of Beyal's.

She motioned for the man to come over. He hurried the white haired teen into the car as Bekka marched up to Chase. The raven-haired teen could see Beyal resist for a moment before letting himself get pulled inside. His vision was blocked as Bekka came close, making him take a step back.

"Now you listen to me. Don't you _ever_ mention that in front of my brother again!" she snapped, "And pray that we don't meet again!"

Without another word, she turned on her heel and went back into the car. It speed right out of the alley, leaving Chase standing there with the batch of bills and forgotten bag of stolen gems. He blinked dumbly, letting the whole incident finally sink in as the police sirens also stopped. He let out a sigh. Just what exactly had he gotten into?

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and monsuno power for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Chase! Get up! You'll be late for school!"

It had been three days since his encounter with Beyal in the alley. Three long, stressful days. Not only was he unable to get much sleep, but he had come to the realization that this wasn't a hologram, nor was it a dream. And it was that thought that left him feeling cold, empty and more than a little panicked.

He hadn't left his room, telling his parents that he wasn't feeling well. It worked for the most part, but by the end of the second day they decided he needed to get out of the house since he wasn't really sick. Of course, every time he thought about the situation his stomach would knot itself until he was ready to throw up. But what was he supposed to do?

The first thing he _wanted_ to do was to go after Beyal since he still knew what monsuno were. Obviously that didn't work considering how long he was running around the city that night, and the next night. He was still looking for Droog and clues the entire time, but without any leads, he was practically chasing his own shadow.

He let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. The wasn't a dream. This wasn't a hologram. He was really here, and he was trapped without monsuno.

And every time he was reminded of that he wanted to scream until his throat went dry.

"Chase? Are you up there?" Sophia called. He let out a sigh, burying his face in his pillow. Footsteps started to trail up the steps until they stopped at his door. There was a knock, and the door creaked open.

"Chase? Are you okay?" Sophia asked. He didn't respond, hoping that maybe if he didn't move she'd think he were still sleeping. That wasn't the case, as she sat down on the bed and nudged him gently. He immediately tensed, giving away that he was awake.

"... Did something happen at school? Is that why you don't want to go?" Sophia asked, "Is that why you left school on tuesday? Do you want me to go there for you?"

Chase groaned into his pillow. As much as he hated being in this world, he hated the idea of his mother doing things for him even more. Especially something like going to his school.

"N-No. I'm fine," he mumbled, raising his head a little, "I was just feeling a little anxious is all. I'll be ready in a few."

"Alright. If you're sure," Sophia said, not looking completely convinced. She got up and walked out the door, lingering for a brief moment before going down the stairs. Chase really, really, _really_ didn't want to go anywhere at this point. But what choice did he have? He had already gone through the city at least twice now from sun up to sun down. There wasn't anywhere else he could think of looking or going.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, looking off to his closet that held his school uniform.

…..

The school itself was something impressive, and Chase couldn't help but wonder if this was what a private school was like, seeing the large gate ahead. The buildings were tall, with blue and white accents. He looked down at himself, loosening his tie a bit. He kept his blazer undone, already feeling hot and nervous. Slowly, Chase made his way inside, but quickly hid behind a tree when he saw his friends.

"Where's he at? I thought you said he'd be here today," Jinja said, looking out towards the school yard towards the main gate. Bren was busy typing away on his small tablet, not bothering to look up as he sat on a bench. Chase continued to watch the pair, feeling his stomach twist itself.

It was a strange feeling, seeing people he had grown up with and know that they're not at all the same. It was different with his mother, since he hadn't ever grown up with her, but there was a strange sensation that he got when he was with her (which was another reason he wanted to get out of the house).

"I'm pretty sure he'll show up when he needs to," Bren waved off, "Besides, today's my chess match. He wouldn't miss his best friend become regional champ again!"

Jinja glared a bit at the other, then frowned even more.

"I don't know. He did miss my judo match..."

Bren noticed the change in her tone, then put the tablet down on his lab as she sat next to him on the bench. He didn't know what to say, simply letting his gaze drop to the ground. Chase took a breath, leaning back against the tree for some support.

This reminded him so much of what happened before monsuno, down to the activities that those two were involved in. He couldn't help but wonder if getting them involved with monsuno was such a good idea. What would've been different?

He shook his head. No. Having monsuno was one of the best things that had happened to him! Granted he had to struggle to find his father and had half the world trying to track him down, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Chase looked back to them, knowing that he could at least search this school for anything peculiar. With a breath, he jogged over to the two.

"Hey!" he shouted, waving a hand. The two instantly perked up, Jinja having relief as Bren's eyes lit up.

"I knew you'd be here," Bren said, standing up and giving Jinja a sly look, "Told ya he would."

Jinja huffed at the other, then looked to Chase, "you feeling alright? You didn't seem okay a few days ago."

Chase put on an exhausted smile, "Y-yeah. Just going through a phase. Something with my parents."

Bren gave her another 'told you so' look before the bell went off. Chase couldn't help but jump at the sound, a bit reminiscent of S.T.O.R.M. alerts.

"Alright. Let's start the day!" Bren said, merrily leading them along.

…..

School was exactly how Chase remembered. Boring.

Of course, he had never had a particular interest in school in the first place, considering how his father had gone missing during his first few years of high school (that tended to be a bump in the road). Without much memory of what he had been doing before running to find Jeredy, Chase was at a loss for almost every subject.

And apparently, that was strange for him.

Almost every teacher called on him, and every time he was asked a question he could only give up a lame excuse or joke. Some of the teachers were mad that he would be so casual, while others were more sympathetic since he wasn't in school for the past few days.

By lunch time, all he wanted to do was collapse and crawl back into his fake room with his fake mom.

"God I forgot how much I hated this," Chase sighed as he slumped onto one of the tables. Bren and Jinja followed him, both giving him concerned looks as they sat by him.

"C'mon, Chase. You're just having a rough day," Bren said, offering an apple. Chase took it in his hands, rolling it on the table, "I think you just need to get excited about my match today! I mean, it'll be pretty easy, but it should still be exciting."

Chase stopped rolling the apple, lazily looking to them.

"I really doubt that," he muttered. Bren's face fell a bit, and Jinja decided to chime in.

"H-Hey! Bren! Who're you going against anyway?" she said, diverting his attention.

"I... Actually. I don't know," he said scratching his head, "I remember something happening to where they had to reschedule the final. But it's a little unheard of that they'd have the final separated from the tournament."

Jinja looked over to the window for a brief second, then turned back, "Do you think it has to do with who you're facing?"

"Could be," Bren shrugged, "I think something happened in the other match during the semifinals, otherwise I would've won by now."

The red-haired girl let out a huff, flexing her arm, "Probably not as easily as I beat my match! That tall blonde guy from the beach city in the south didn't stand a chance."

Chase continued to eat away at the apple, soon drowning out their conversation. He started going over some of the small details in the classrooms that he could remember. Being called on every class made him panic more then actually pay attention. Nothing monsuno related at the moment, and no other familiar faces so far.

The bell rang again, and they left the lunch room. Chase lazily threw his apple core in a way that was reminiscent of spinning a monsuno core. It spun around the trash bin before landing inside.

"Woah! That was cool!" a random kid said as the three hurried out. As soon as they got back to their home room, Chase couldn't help but miss the feeling of spinning a core. He desired that feeling of satisfaction of watching the blue metal soar across the ground before letting him see his partners. Funny how dependent he had become on it.

"Looks like the professor is still out," Bren whistled as an unfamiliar woman walked in. Chase recognized her from the morning classes, but apparently she was a substitute (and luckily she was one of the few who didn't call on him).

"Alright. Please turn to the following pages..."

...

 _"Alright. We're getting close to the location. Everyone ready?"_

 _"Ready!"_

 _"Ready."_

 _"All good mate."_

 _"H-hold on! Just gotta charge the Core tablet a little more..."_

 _"... Jeez Bren. I would think you'd have that thing charged nonstop. Besides, do we even need that?"_

 _"Yeah we do! Never know if we get lost!"_

 _"That does tend to happen quite often..."_

 _"Don't agree with him, Beyal. It'll go to his head."_

 _"Okay, okay! Let's just get this over with guys! It shouldn't take that long anyway. Just a simple, small easy to do mission to recover some monsuno essence."_

 _"With the possibility of catching Eklipse."_

 _"Yeah. Them-"_

 _"Or even the Forge Resistance."_

 _"Yes. Thanks. And the Forge Resistance."_

 _"Droog?"_

 _"Yeah, sure why not-"_

 _"No. Droog. He's over there."_

...

The ring of the bell woke Chase up from his nap. Slowly, he raised his head from his desk, barely realizing that he managed to doze off in the middle of class. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to see Jinja gathering her things. He glanced behind to see that Bren had already left.

"Hey, Jin," he said, "Where'd Bren go?"

She looked over, seeing him awake.

"He's already gone down for his chess match. Didn't you hear the intercom?"

He slowly stood up, shaking his head. Jinja rolled her eyes.

"Alright. Well. He went down to the auditorium," she said, "I was gonna go watch if you wanna come along."

Chase debated it for a second. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to do after getting done with school. He hadn't even looked thoroughly through the school. Maybe this was his chance.

"Sure! I've never been to a chess match!" he said enthusiastically. Jinja raised a brow, laughing a little.

"Wow. I haven't seen you this enthusiastic about seeing a chess match before," she said, leading the way out, "I thought you'd be more interested in catching your practice."

"Practice?"

"Yeah... You're on the lacrosse team?" Jinja said questioningly, "Or did you decide to quit?"

Chase frowned, but continued to walk. He honestly wasn't much of a sports guy. In middle school he was once in theatre, but that was years ago. Besides that, he refused to be involved in any other type of activities.

"Let's just say I'm taking a break," he said, "Now let's go! Aren't we going to be late?"

Jinja nodded, and the two went down the hall towards the auditorium. He kept looking all around, just in case there was something that was out of place. But since he had never been to this school, that made it hard. Before he knew it, they were down at the auditorium.

They opened the doors. Jinja let out a sigh as Chase stared wide eyed.

"Well... Turn out here is better then last time," she sighed, looking at the empty room besides the first five rows. Jinja noticed his expression, following his line of sight to the stage. Bren was on stage with his opponent, the proctor making announcements about the tournament.

"Ah. Made it," Jinja sighed. She took a few steps, then noticed Chase not following. He continued to stare, eyeing their fifth teammate that was on the stage.

Dax had his dreads pulled back in a high ponytail, with a uniform that wasn't quite as lavish as his and Bren's. But was a uniform nonetheless, and that was something Chase thought he'd never see.

He walked right up to Bren at the signal of the proctor, the two shaking hands. Dax was a lot more relaxed then the other, saying something just before he took a seat. Whatever he said shook up Bren, because his cheeks started to turn red. Chase remembered that whenever that happened, it was because he was mad rather then embarrassed. Perhaps he hadn't changed…

The proctor stepped up, holding up a hand.

"You may, begin!"

Chase had never been to a chess tournament, so he wasn't sure what to expect. However, one of his worst habits started to rear its ugly head at him. That being how excited he got in the beginning, but quickly got disinterested. It had only been a few minutes before he decided that he didn't like the game in the least bit.

"Jinja is it almost over?" he whispered. Jinja shushed him, turning back to the stage. He let out a sigh. There was a screen that showed the board to the audience, but he wasn't sure how to follow any of it. Jinja had explained briefly that Bren was already at a disadvantage having black, but it looked like he was wining with the amount of pieces still on the board.

Every turn was rather slow, with Dax looking across the board lazily before moving a piece. He didn't tap the timer immediately either. Bren was faster, being cautious about every move.

Dax looked thoughtfully down at the pieces, Bren now having a confident grin on his face.

"You know you can just forfeit right now," he boasted, "I mean. I did win for the past two years. And you don't seem like the kinda guy who would play this seriously. You're using up all your time."

Dax snorted, casually moving one piece then pushing the timer.

"Sorry to say Glasses, but this is just a little bet that I have going on," he said. Bren raised a brow, moving another piece. Dax suddenly picked up the pace, moving pieces and slamming on the timer within two seconds of each turn. Bren was able to match the pace, but suddenly found himself panicking at the switch.

"You see, some of my mates were sayin' I could beat you in ten minutes," Dax said, keeping his pace steady and quick, "But some of the other blokes were thinking I would take twenty."

Dax took one of Bren's knights, some of the other students gasping in the stands. Bren stared down, ignoring them and focusing again.

"So I decided to make a rather bold bet," Dax said, taking a rook this time, "I told them I'd beat you at an exact time between the two, right down to the second."

Bren looked over to the judges timer, seeing that they were now at twelve and a half minutes left. He let out a sigh.

"Well too bad. I still have most of my pieces and you're only down to a quarter. You're gonna lose your bet and the tournament."

Dax let out a laugh, then moved a knight over to another piece. Bren let out a gasp, as did most of the audience. Chase looked around, then leaned over to Jinja as Dax removed the piece from the board.

"What? What happened?" he asked.

"That was Bren's queen. It's the best piece on the board," she said, not taking her eyes off the stage as the two started to go faster. Thirteen and a half minutes.

"You had me pegged wrong there Glasses," Dax said, "You thought you had safety in numbers, but all you've been aiming for were the pawns and the king."

Three more pieces gone. Fourteen minutes.

"You didn't even notice the corner that you backed yourself in."

Two more off. Bren was started to sweat, eyes darting across the board. From what Chase understood, he just needed to get the King piece and then the game was over. Dax's white king was right in the open, so why wasn't Bren trying to take it?

He looked up to the board, seeing most of Bren's pieces in a corner as Dax's were spread out. And the longer they played, the more Bren's defenses were whittled down.

Bren was looking all across, trying to figure out what to move next. Dax leaned back in his seat.

"Now look who's taking all the time," he sassed. Bren frowned deeply, moving a piece carelessly forward. He eyes the clock, a smirk rising.

"Well. The least I can do is make you lose your bet," he said, slowing down his pace as the clock passed fifteen minutes. Dax let out a chuckle.

"Not possible," he said, "Cause I just won."

He moved a bishop towards the far end of the board, earning a round of gasps from the crowd.

"Checkmate."

Everyone was in awe, most of them dumfounded. Bren looked up and down, trying to figure out a way out. The proctor came over, looking as well.

"We have a winner!" he said with delight, the few students inside starting to clap. Out of instinct Chase stood up, and started clapping even louder, making Jinja jump in her seat.

"Woo! Yeah!" he cheered, "Good job you two!"

Bren frowned, looking crestfallen. Dax simply raised a brow, unsure of what to make of the teen. Chase hoped that perhaps he'd recognize him like Beyal did. But after a few seconds, he realized that wasn't the case.

"Thanks for the extra change," Dax said, digging his hands into his pockets in a familiar gesture. Bren stood up, holding his hand out as part of the match. Dax took it firmly.

"I thought you said you had to get between ten and twenty minutes," he said.

"Nuh uh. I said an exact time between them. I never said what time," Dax said, walking away towards the proctor as adults started swarming nearby to take pictures.

Jinja let out a sigh, watching Bren sulk a bit as he walked to the back of the stage. Chase watched them. He wanted to go talk to Dax. He wanted to know if he also knew about monsuno.

"C'mon Chase. Bren needs us," Jinja said, taking his hand. He looked to see her smile briefly.

But it was quickly replaced by shock as his grip tightend.

At first he didn't know why, but gasped as a flurry of images ran through his mind, taking his breath away as Jinja collapsed before him.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and DoomNightAt12 for the reviews! I haven't forgotten about this story! Just need better time management skills. Also apologies if this beginning part isn't word for word of the third episode, as I can't seem to find the English dub of that episode (and I can't understand any of the other languages that I can find of that episode).

Enjoy anyway!

* * *

 _She had the blue core now filled with monsuno essence. She had seen the way that it was done. Maybe this was her chance to be like the other two._

 _"Jinja! Wait!"_

 _"Launch!"_

 _A roar resounded throughout as a large orange and blue monsuno burst free. It let out a huff as it clashed into the metal train heading towards them. It let out a roar as soon as it came to a stop. She looked at it in awe and admiration._

 _'Wow. So this is a monsuno. And this one. It's... Mine.'_

 _She held out the core from before, feelings of pride coming as the monsuno turned back into blue flashes and retreated back. She held it for a brief moment, a smile unable to contain itself._

 _'This. This is my partner. My very own monsuno!'_

...

Chase stood there, blinking slowly as the memory seeped away from his vision and he was left standing in the auditorium. He looked around, seeing everyone still crowding around the stage. It took him a few minutes to realize that only a few seconds had passed by since those memories of Jinja-

He gasped, then turned to where he had seen the red-haired girl. He stepped back, seeing her now hunched over, clutching her head in her hands. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, no longer paying attention to what was going on.

"Jinja! What's-"

Chase stopped, gaze now drawn up towards the entrance of the auditorium. He cursed silently, seeing the man in the suit that was starting to get annoyingly familiar.

"Droog!"

He took one step towards him before remembering Jinja. He cast her a glance, now split between going after the one who had answers and helping his friend.

But that was the problem.

This wasn't really Jinja. And that was the real Droog (from the looks of it). The choice was an obvious one to make. And yet...

Chase took his eyes off the strange man and crouched down next to the red-haired girl.

"Jinja! Are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched immediately, eyes unfocused as she looked towards him. After a second, recognition flashed within.

"... Chase," she said faintly, shoulders dropping, "What-"

"Hey! Guys!"

The two looked up to see Bren standing in the aisle, brows raised.

"What're... You two doing?"

Chase stood up a bit before offering a hand to Jinja. She looked at it with suspicion, and rose on her own.

"N-nothing," she said, letting out a sigh. Exhaustion linger in her eyes as she nudged her way past Chase other to the other teen, "Let's... Let's just go."

Bren looked confused, but when he gave a glance towards the commotion on stage he nodded with a sullen look. If anything, he probably didn't want to stay here any longer then he needed to.

"Hold on," Chase said, "What did you see just now, Jin? Was it... monsuno?"

She didn't respond, instead walking up the stairs towards the entrance. Bren gave him one glance before following, leaving him standing there.

He looked to the floor, listening as students and adults continued to babble by the stage. Those memories just now. It was obvious who's they were, but what did it mean? Clearly Jinja saw it too, but she didn't want to admit it. Why wouldn't she though? After getting Charger, she always said that was one of the best moments of her life. Even in those flashes, he felt the proud feelings that she did when spinning out the large monsuno for the first time.

Chase dug his hands into his pockets, deciding that he should give her distance. At least for now. Until then, he had to get to the bottom of things. And there was one person in particular that he needed to find.

...

Chase sighed. He was standing outside the main building, leaning against the wall as the sun started to set. After leaving, he wandering around to look for a sign of Droog again or to see if there was monsuno related activity. 'Shockingly' there was nothing. He was scolded by a teacher at one point for wandering around in the halls, but since it was technically after school he was allowed to be there (especially since he was some sort of athlete, although he was still unwilling to go near the fields).

There was absolutely nothing, including Bren and Jinja. He could assume that the two had decided to leave the school, especially with how bummed they were. As much as he wanted to distance himself away from them, he couldn't. They weren't technically his friends, but that didn't mean he was supposed to ignore them. If anything, he still felt somewhat dependent on them. He would need to get a hold of Jinja eventually-

There was a noise of a metal door opening, along with the sound of two male voices. Chase instantly recognized one of them, and started to look around.

"... And then we'll have to be back. So I think we got time to see the town, ya know?"

Chase peeked around the corner, seeing two teens now loitering outside the gym doors. He inhaled sharply.

"I dunno Dax. We ought to head back before any of those mooks find out we're gone," a teen with fluffy hair said. Chase didn't recognize him, so perhaps he was one of Dax's friends in this world.

"No. Nope. Nuh uh," Dax waved, "Not so fast there, Spike. We're in the big city. Might as well enjoy it for an hour. Besides, we'll be back before they even know we're gone. I got a good chunk of winnings anyway. That definitely counts for something.

The other teen folded his arms together with a small hum.

"... Nah. I think we ought to go back," he responded, "I'll just... See you back at the bus stop."

Dax raised a brow, and shrugged his shoulders, "Suit yourself. I guess I'll see you later then."

The familiar teen walked away, and Chase took a few steps back as he approached. He turned around to run, but stopped. Suddenly, he found himself debating.

On one hand, he could try and confront Dax and see if he remembered anything like Beyal did. But on the other, he could trigger something like Jinja. She was disturbed by what she had seen, so there was no telling what Dax would have as a vision. If anything, it might be worse.

And the last thing Chase needed to do was cause trouble. Things involving monsuno with Dax were some of the more negative effects caused by the beasts. His town was ravaged by Klipse, and he lost his family because of it. He had lost more then Chase could even fathom. Eventually, Chase found himself at the conclusion of not saying anything. It would be better this way.

Of course, he should've been walking as he came to that conclusion. As soon as he turned around, he came face to face with the lowlander. He let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Ah! Oh. Um... Hello," he said awkwardly. Dax raised a brow, hands in his pants pockets. It was strange seeing him up close like this, especially with how different he looked in a school uniform.

"And what're you doin' out here?" he asked with a frown. Chase's lips quirked a bit, an uneasy smile on his face as he kept his hands to his sides.

"Ah. Uh. Nothing! Just... Getting some air," he said, stretching his arms up with a yawn, "Oh yeah. So tired. School, amirite?"

Dax had a suspicious look on his face, trying to read the other.

"You seem familiar... Have we met before?" he asked. Chase held his breath. Would this be like with Beyal, where there was the chance of being able to explain monsuno? Did he perhaps remember?

Dax snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah! You're captain of the Core Tech Falcons. Chance Sumo right?"

Or maybe not.

"Yeah. Sure. That's me," Chase said unenthusiastically, not bothering to correct his name. Dax blinked.

"Wait. Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in practice or something?"

"Shouldn't you be with your friends," Chase muttered. That got a reaction from the lowlander, who was suddenly looming over the other. Chase instantly regretted mumbling

"What was that?" Dax hissed. It took him a moment as he looked back to the direction he came in, and then to Chase again, "You were listening weren't you?"

Chase shrugged his shoulders, deciding that maybe asking the other wasn't the best idea right now. Dax frowned even more, then pushed the other out of the way.

"Whatever. I don't need this right now. Especially from some jock," he said, walking off.

"Wait!" Chase started, then shifted on his feet, "Can I... Ask you something?"

Dax turned around. Chase took a breath. It was now or never.

"Do you... Wanna hang out?" he asked. The lowlander gave him a surprised look. Chase was a little shocked that he did that as well. He knew saying something about monsuno was a bad idea, but maybe he could find out if Dax at least had an idea of what monsuno was without outright saying it, or even if he remembered something. Besides, he wasn't exactly in a hurry to go back to his not-family.

Dax let out a sigh, scratching the back of his neck, "Yeah. Sure. That's exactly what I want. Hanging out with the football captain."

He turned around, heading for the school gates. Chase watched him for a moment before he stopped and turned around.

"Well? Are you coming? I never said the company wouldn't be warranted."

Chase found himself grinning widely, and ran to catch up with the other.

"Oh. My name's Chase by the way," he said as the school got further behind the two, "And it's lacrosse, not basketball."

Dax turned to him, "Does it really look like I care?"

...

They hadn't really gotten far before Chase found that Dax was practically the same person. Much like Bren and Jinja, he had the same attitude as the raven-haired teen remembered. Dax was snarky, with a hint of being genuine in what he was saying. The two were cracking jokes the whole way down the shopping district of town. If anything, the one thing that was different was how quickly Dax was able to warm up to the other, even after their shaky introduction.

"-And then my old buddy Spike decides to go and clog all the sinks in the kitchen, just so that they would have to order take out," Dax said, reciting one of his many stories, "Of course, it would've helped if it weren't for the fact that they had caught the bugger. He had to spend days cleaning out the pipes. Smelt worse then day old roadkill."

Chase let out a genuine laugh. He had never interacted this close to the other before. Maybe he'd have to after getting out of this place. The two walked some distance before Chase's stomach growled. He instantly regretted not eating something that day. He looked around to see that there was a small snack stand near one of the shops. Dax saw his hungry expression and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry mate, I got this," he said, then ran over. Chase sighed, then sat back on one of the benches. He watched some of the people go by, and quickly found himself feeling empty again without company.

Obviously he hadn't mentioned monsuno to the other teen, but that only confirmed what he had been seeing.

Everyone was happier without them.

He watched Dax talking to the lady at the counter. He had a rather flirtatious expression as she blushed at what he said. Everyone he knew was still the same, just without monsuno. Maybe he just needed to find-

There was a buzz in his pocket that made him jerk. He quickly looked to see that it was the cellular device that his parents got him ('don't worry son. We just replaced the one you lost!'). Jinja's name was flashing on the screen, which meant she was trying to call.

Chase wasn't sure how he felt. He could ask if she was feeling better, or even if she remembered something having to do with monsuno. Plus, it's not like it would hurt to ask.

He pressed the accept button, cautiously putting it to his ear, "uh... Hello?"

" _Chase? Oh. Hi,_ " Jinja said on the other line, " _I was just... Wanting to talk to you. If you wouldn't mind."_

"Course not," he responded, then waited. Nothing was said for a few seconds, and he awkwardly shifted in his seat.

"Uh. Jinja?"

 _"Oh! Um. Actually. Can we talk in person? Where are you right now?"_

Chase looked up to find a landmark or street sign. But everything on this side of the city was unfamiliar, "Not at home that's for sure."

" _What was that?"_

"Nothing! Just, wandering and getting some air. That auditorium was really stuffy!" Chase said, "Speaking of which, was that what you wanted to talk about?"

" _Y-yeah... I. Look. Can I come over tomorrow or something? I have some things to think off."_

"Of course. Take as much time as you need," Chase said. He was being honest, since he didn't want to scare or make the girl panic. The last thing he needed was to lose this lead.

" _Okay. Well. See you tomorrow."_

There was a click, and the call ended. Chase looked down at it for a second, then started moving through the contacts list. There were his friends of course, but also a variety of people that were completely unrecognizable. Occasionally he would see a name from his past that he wasn't expecting, but no one really out of the ordinary. Maybe he could follow up with some of them and find out more about this place, since he didn't seem to be going anywhere soon.

A chili dog appeared in front of him, and he looked up to see Dax standing there.

"Why so serious Suno?" he asked, taking a sip from a soda. Chase took the dog, his stomach giving a protest. He let out a sigh after the first bite.

"Calm down there or you'll choke," Dax said as he took a seat. Chase shook his head, devouring it in seconds, "if I knew how hungry you were I could've haggled another dog out of that cashier."

Chase shook his head, licking some of the sauce off his fingers, "Never realized how hungry I was."

He started to wipe his hands on his pants when Dax held out a napkin. As Chase took it, he had realized how often two had been touching. Not fully, but slight bumps of the hands or elbows. His first thoughts flew to what had happened with Jinja.

Chase watched the other as he looked around the shopping square with a bored expression. Why wasn't Dax having a similar reaction? Did it have something to do with her connection to her monsuno? But they all had their own relationships to their partners that were equal in many ways. What else could it have been…

Monsuno and humans. No that wasn't right.

Monsuno...

Humans...

A connection of some sort...

"Of course!" Chase said, jumping to his feet. He couldn't believe he had been so dim. The monsuno sight! That's why Beyal remembered things, and why Jinja was starting to remember. And. And...

He stopped with a frown. No, that didn't make sense. Otherwise his mom would've been one of the first people to say something.

"Is there something wrong?" Dax asked with a raised brow. Chase shook his head, more to himself. Was it because he touched Jinja that triggered it? But Beyal already knew what monsuno were, and he didn't recognize Chase at all.

He glanced to the other teen. Maybe if he talked just enough, Dax would remember something. He did spend a lot of time within the past year with Jeredy after all. Who knows what kind of things about monsuno he knew.

"Okay. This is going to sound crazy, but I need to ask you something seriously," Chase said. Dax raised a brow, but didn't protest. The other hesitated, shuffling on his feet. He'd have to strategize a little. The last thing he needed was to blurt out his life's story again.

"So… Hypothetically. Would you want to travel the world?"

Dax shrugged, "Probably. Not sure if I'd do it right now. My friends back in Sanctuary City are waitin'."

"But. Let's just say they weren't," Chase said, sitting back down on the bench, "Like… Someone asked you to do something that required you to go around the world-"

"Do I get paid?"

"I don't know! Sure. But… You have to help him with research," Chase said, taking a steady breath, "Research having to do with… Monsters."

Dax raised a brow, "Was there something in that chili dog that you ate? You're starting to talk nonsense."

Chase took a breath, knowing that now was never. He looked around, eyes catching a poster in a nearby store.

"I uh… It's a game!" he said quickly, remembering what his dad said a few days ago,"A uh… A video game! Yeah! You have to go around and fight with these things called monsuno. They're like your partners and stuff."

There was a look that made him think that Dax wasn't quite believing him. But in the end he shrugged.

"Okay. Is it for the computer or something or is it a handheld?"

"That's not important right now. It had this mechanism in it where you 'spin out' cores that hold the monsuno inside. They come out and fight for you."

"So you don't fight in the game. They fight for you?"

"Yeah and-"

"What's the point," Dax said, leaning back and tossing his cup off in a nearby trash can, "If you can't find things yourself why have something else do it?"

Chase scratched the back of his neck, "Well… They're like five times your size. Can't exactly fight something like that on your own right?"

Dax shrugged, "I guess… Go on."

"So. You're fighting with monsuno. And you have a team of four other people-"

"I'll stop you right there," Dax said, then stood up, "If this is a game on teamwork, then I'll probably lose every time. Not exactly a team player here Mr. Jock."

"B-But that's just part of it," Chase said, standing as well, "There's more to it! You gotta go around and fight evil organizations and the army and find out a way to save the monsuno. That's the whole point of going around the world and planting the failsafe- That's the whole reason you were with my dad!-"

He stopped. Dax looked to him with a confused look.

"What?"

"I-uh," Chase took a step back. Crag! He let his mouth run again. Dax leaned closer, looking directly at Chase.

"I knew there was something weird about you," he said, then turned to walk back towards the school, "Probably hit your head way too much in rugby or something. I thought I'd humor you with coming down this way. But obviously you got some daddy issues to work out."

Dax started walking. Chase wanted to go after, even as he disappeared in the crowd. But he knew what would happen if he pushed it. He would be labeled as even crazier. And just like that, he let his fifth teammate walk off.

...

He trudged back home slowly, knowing that there was not much to do at this point. He had no more leads on where to look or to go, especially with how fast Droog seemed to vanish. And all his friends either had no clue on what monsuno was, or knew but didn't want to say anything.

"How am I suppose to get back home?" he muttered, opening the gate up and going up the stone steps. He knew that this wasn't where he belonged. And he knew that monsuno were still existent, otherwise Jinja wouldn't have reacted the way that she did. And this certainly wasn't where he wanted to stay. As much as he liked having a more relaxed life, this wasn't _his_ life. He needed adventure! He needed the thrill of monsuno fighting!

He needed Locke...

"Welcome home son," Sophia called from the kitchen at the sound of the door opening and closing. He grunted, kicking his shoes off to the side. She heard the noise and peeked into the hall. At the sight of his expression she walked towards him.

"Is there something wrong? Was school okay?"

He stopped at the base of the staircase. That's right. She probably thought that there was some sort of problem in school that made him miss the other day.

"N-No. Of course not," he said, "I just... Was a little bummed by Bren's chess match today."

"Oh. Did something happen?"

"You know, I'd love to talk about it but I uh. Am super exhausted," Chase said, walking up the stairs with an exaggerated yawn, "Maybe we could talk at dinner?"

Sophia blinked, and nodded. He hated how easily he was able to lie to her like this, but it just confirmed his own feelings about how she wasn't his real mother. He took a few more steps up before she called out to him again.

"Oh! Before I forget. Here Chase. This came for you in the mail," Sophia said, handing a small paper envelope up to him. He took it, turning it around and back. There wasn't anything on it besides his name in the top corner. He trailed up the stairs, not wanting to open it in front of her. His hands flew to the flap as soon as he shut his door.

He held his hand out to shake out what was inside, and was surprised to see a bunch of small colorful slips of paper jumble out. On closer inspection, he saw they were tickets. Only one paper was different, folded into a neat square. He unfolded it, skimming over the text quickly. His eyes widened, and he looked down at the pile.

 _Chase._

 _If you want to know more about monsuno. Please come to this show tomorrow night. Everything will be answered then._

No name was signed.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to chasexjinjaforever and monsuno power for the reviews! I was wanting to put this out earlier, but was waiting for an obvious reason (that being my other fic right now)

Enjoy!

* * *

For the whole Saturday. Chase was completely on edge. He had stayed up well into the morning the previous night after getting home, and had finally collapsed on his bed in a fit of exhaustion.

He had read over that note over and over until his eyes were sore (was that even possible?) . But there was no name, sign, date, or symbol that could even hint at who delivered it. Moreover, the tickets that were inside also didn't give much of a clue. Some of them weren't even In the same language, and he couldn't figure out if they were for a train, plane, room, or some other fourth thing.

Chase glared at the pile of colorful paper sitting on his desk. What was he supposed to do? Someone out there knew about monsuno, and this could be the opportunity he was looking for.

But then it could also be a trap.

Chase sighed, turning over onto his back. What was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he was doing much anyway, and he was always one to jump straight into danger. But that was before when he had monsuno and his friends at his side, when he could be reckless and still have a way out just in case.

He just needed answers. And as much as he hated it, he would have to go with it. It being this mysterious note. He stood up, going Over to the desk and picking up the note.

His gaze lingered on his name. It wasn't a good indicator, but obviously someone who knew him sent it, and they knew about monsuno. And there was only one person in his mind right now that knew both. Droog.

Maybe the strange man finally decided to stop running around and give him answers. Maybe he's finally find out about why he was here, and where here was.

There was a knock at the door, and it slowly opened. Chase looked over to see his father. He grimaced a little, still not used to seeing jeredy in regular work clothes.

"Chase," he said, "I... Just wanted to check on you. You were up pretty late last night."

The teen nodded, and stepped in front of his desk, bidding the pile of papers. Jeredy took note of his disheveled appearance, especially considering how he had fallen asleep in his school uniform.

"Y-yeah. Just trying to... Catch up on my homework," he shrugged, "I missed out on a lot."

Jeredy smiled, "well. I suppose I should've expected as much. Your mother had lunch downstairs when your ready to come down."

He left, leaving the door ajar. Chase paused briefly before going over and shutting it. He turned around, eyeing the infernal pile of paper slips.

He loosened his school tie with a sigh. Even if it was a trap he was walking into, it was better then hanging around here.

"Hey. Jinja. Are you there?"

"Yeah. Um. Hi chase."

He shifted on his feet, holding the phone up and glancing around the park. He felt this would be as good a place as any to have a talk with the red haired girl, especially since it was so close to his house.

"Yeah. Um. Hi," he said awkwardly, and then cleared his throat, "uh. So, are you free right now? We can talk now."

" sure... I'll meet you. Uh. Where are you again."

He repeated the street names he was closest to.

"I'll see you in a few?" He asked.

"Y-yeah. See you."

There was a click of the receiver, and he put the phone back into his pocket. He leaned back into the bench, trying to situate himself more comfortably.

It was nearly impossible to do. He could hear the uneasiness in Jinjas voice, and knew that she was most likely bothered by that vision of charger she saw.

At first he could only assume it would be a good thing, especially since he had seen the same thing and felt a strong feeling of happiness. So surely she had received the same thing, right?

He sighed, letting his head flop back and stared at the sky. What he wouldn't give to be flying on Evo right now.

…..

 _"What's droog doing here?"_

 _"I dunno, but it's probably not good, all things considering."_

 _"I say we go down there and knock some heads. Maybe he's seen someone else around here like Klipse or Tallis."_

 _"Hold on there Dax. I think we ought to think this through first. After all, it could be a trap."_

 _"We have to go down there anyway, Jinja. There's a spike of monsuno energy. And I'm pretty sure it's the one chases dad was talking about."_

 _"That's a good enough reason for me!"_

 _"Chase wait!"_

…..

"Chase?"

His eyes shot open. He leaned up, spotting jinja standing there. Chase blinked realizing that he had dozed off. But he still couldn't help his staring.

Usually, Jinja was one to wear thick pants and jackets, hardly wearing anything that could be considered 'girly' (event with her parents pressuring her). But obviously that was the old jinja that Chase knew, and he told himself that before even showing up.

But that still didn't keep him from staring at her as she stood on a pair of blue flats wearing an equally blue skirt. Even her top was cut and fitted in a way that was more on the revealing side.

His brain died a little.

"Uh... Chase?" She asked with a raised brow. She snapped her fingers in his face.

"Ack! Uh. Jinja!" He stammered, immediately looking away with flushed ears, "um. S-sit down."

She continued to have a confused expression as she sat down, him immediately scooting further away.

"So. Um. Here we are," he said lamely. Admittedly he was caught off guard by her appearance, but it served as a (massive) reminder about how he needed to get out of here.

"Y-yeah," she said, looking off to the side.

He fiddled his thumbs, "uh. So. Yesterday you saw something, right?"

She nodded, still not looking towards him. He cleared his throat, feeling it suddenly go dry.

"Uh… So. What was it?"

Jinja fidgeted in her spot, disbelief in her eyes. He could tell that she was probably still in denial of what she had seen. But that was the problem. She _had_ seen it. And Chase had been mentioning it to her and Bren almost every single time he saw them.

"Well… There was this bull-like monster," she started, "It was really big… And it was blue and orange and was intimidating…"

She paused, briefly looking up towards the rest of the park.

"But then it was also amazing. I could feel it's energy in my hand. There was something there, like a pill bottle or a small jar. It kind of reminded me of an hourglass now that I think about it."

Chase nodded, watching as she looked down to her right hand: her launching arm. She licked her lips.

"But… It was strange. I wasn't myself either," she said, a disturbed expression on her face, "I didn't _feel_ like myself at all, as if I was watching but not really in control."

"But wasn't it cool?" Chase asked, "Being able to see something like that. Having a partner and friend that you could count on! And who would stay by your side when it mattered! And-and-"

He stopped, seeing her shiver and look down to the ground. Jinja ran her hands up her arms. Chase blinked dumbly, and gave a silent 'oh'.

Even though he always felt great pleasure from calling out his monsuno and having a chance to bond with them, he hadn't bothered to think about what she must've been feeling. And it wasn't just the fact that he had ignored those feelings, it was the fact that this Jinja clearly wanted nothing to do with them. He got to feel the same thing that his Jinja felt, the one who was there when the whole monsuno issue began. And who willing came with him to search for his father.

But this place was different.

And there was no telling whether or not this Jinja would do the same. As much as he hoped, Chase knew that was probably not the case.

"… There… Was also something else that was wrong," Jinja started, a flush going across the bridge of her nose.

"What? Did you see something besides the monsuno-ah. I mean besides the monster?" Chase asked, slightly hopeful.

"W-Well… To be honest… My actions _and_ thoughts weren't my own," she started, now tapping her foot on the ground in a hurried manner, "A-and it just made me realize… Um. Something important."

Chase nodded, leaning closer in anticipation, "Yeah? What was it?"

He prayed that it was monsuno related. Maybe she remembered something about why he was here. Or something about Droog. Or something about-

Jinja looked up to him with bright eyes, the blush across her nose now scarlet, "It was… You."

…..

"Uh… What about me?" Chase asked, straightening up a little and leaning away. Jinja mimicked his action, except she leaned closer.

"Well… I guess I should finally admit something," she said, looking away with a shy smile while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear- oh no she was confessing!

He panicked inside. Why did he have to be so oblivious all the time!

(He really should've expected something like this given how backwards everything had been up to this point.)

"Well… We've known each other for a long time now," she started, shyly playing with her fingers.

'No we haven't Jinja. _We_ are practically strangers!' he inwardly screamed.

"-And that scare yesterday made me start to realize how much I really do like you-"

'No! You don't like me at all! You used to beat me up in middle school!'

"-if only because I didn't ever want to feel as distant as I did in that... Vision-"

'We weren't distant! We just never thought of each other like that! _I_ never thought of us like that!'

"So I figured I might as well say something now! Especially since we're going to be graduating in a few years-"

The red-haired girl scooted closer. Chase slid backwards, reaching blindly for something. His hand failed to grab anything, including the bench rail. He fell backwards with a squeak.

"Um… Chase?" Jinja asked, blinking. He scrambled up, and started backing up immediately.

"Hey! Oh Um. Wow! Would you look at the time!" he stammered, "I wow. I need to go pick up some bread at the store!"

He didn't bother staying, bolting in the other direction as he heard Jinja calling out to him.

…..

The alleyway was a good place to hide, as Chase had discovered over the year of searching for his father. It offered plenty of space, and depending on where it was, enough food to live for a week (not that he was thinking that. Yet.)

That was where he was at the moment. Between a wall and a dumpster, which he considered was better then a rock and a hard place. He had stayed there for well over an hour, not really wanting to chance it in case Jinja was still wanting to be too friendly.

"Geez I need to get out of this crazy town," he muttered, leaning against the wall. Jinja admitting that she felt something towards him definitely caught him off guard. And was the last thing he was expecting.

But the more he thought about it, the more it started to make sense. It was clear that he was a different person then what everyone else was used to (his grades were evidence of that), but everyone at this point seemed to be the same. If he was the one that was different, then maybe his relationships with everyone was different.

He let out a sigh, looking up to the sky.

Chase had known Jinja since grade school, and it was the same here from the look of things. But there wasn't something between them back where he was from. If anything, she had been more interested in Dax and Beyal-

He stopped, then let out a groan.

Of course. The past year or so was when she talked about the idea of 'dating' someone. Chase had been too preoccupied with his father, and Bren _clearly_ didn't like her that way. So why wouldn't she want to date one of the other two who had actual interest in her then just a friend?

Apparently that year of traveling with the other two hadn't taken place. And their 'three musketeers' had stayed just that. Which meant he and Jinja had plenty of time to be together with each other without the distractions of monsuno and missing fathers (and that thought made Chase's stomach twist itself until he felt sick).

(or maybe that was the rancid smell coming from the dumpster).

Chase rubbed his hands through his hair with a frustrated groan. It was bad enough that he had to deal with being away from monsuno, but he was now dealing with situations that he didn't think were possible!

"Are you enjoying your stay, Chase Suno?"

He jumped at the voice, turning in all directions until his eyes fell on the man with the suit at the end of the alley.

...

"Droog!" Chase exclaimed. He stood up, taking a stance (not that he could do much without a core), "What're you doing here?"

The strange man stared blankly at the teen, making Chase shift uncomfortably. There was a mutual respect that they had back when first meeting, but with how Droog had decided to side himself with their enemies, clearly he wasn't on to be trusted. And that meant Chase would have to tread carefully with probing for answers (especially if Droog was going to try another disappearing act).

"Calm down Chase Suno. I do not wish harm upon you," Droog said, holding up a hand, "If anything, we're going to need to work together on our current situation."

Chase raised a brow, but relaxed somewhat. He couldn't see any cores of Droog's, but there was still the chance of him pulling a fast one.

"Alright. You have my attention," Chase said, "And what is our current situation? Where are we?"

"We are on Earth."

Chase rolled his eyes, "Yeah. I got that much. But _where_ on Earth? Is this a hologram? Or alternate universe or something?"

"... An alternate universe would be the best description of it," Droog said, with a thoughtful expression, "Although it is more then just an alternate universe. I think. But I'm surprised that you don't remember."

"Remember? Remember what?" Chase asked. Droog paused before answering, looking chase up and down. Since it was a saturday, he was able to wear his regular clothes he came in (though that was hardly a comforting action). But that wasn't what Droog was looking at. His gaze was somewhat piercing, almost as if he were looking straight through Chase. The man let out a sigh.

"Nothing. It matters not," he said, "We need to focus on getting back to our dimension. Have you seen anything having to do with monsuno? Especially concerning your father?"

Chase folded his arms with a hum. He shook his head, "No. Nothing. He doesn't even remember them. It's like they never even existed here..."

Droog was silent, still staring blankly at the teen. Chase had to hold in a shudder. Those eyes were really starting to get on his nerves.

"... What about your friends? Surely they must know something," he said. The teen shook his head again.

"Nope. Nothing. I thought they did, but it's obvious that they don't," Chase said bitterly. He had been hoping that Jinja would give him some answers (but they were the ones he didn't want), "The only one who seemed to know something was Beyal. And I have no idea where he could be..."

Droog nodded, then looked to the side.

"Perhaps that's what _she_ meant..." he muttered, then turned back to Chase, "Thank you. You have been helpful."

He turned on his heel and left the alley.

"H-Hold on!" Chase shouted, running after him, stumbling over some of the boxes he hid behind. The man stopped, looking back, "Aren't you going to tell me where we are? Or why we are here?"

"Don't worry Chase Suno. I'll be getting to the bottom of things," Droog said, "And believe me. You'll be the first to know that I've succeeded."

He walked away from the alley entrance. That wasn't a reassuring comment in the least bit!

"Wait!"

Chase ran faster, knowing that the mysterious man would disappear within seconds like he had been. What he wasn't expecting was to bump into someone immediately. He had seen a brief glimpse of yellow, already knowing that Droog had disappeared. He teetered away so that he would be the one falling instead of fully crashing into them. He overshot his landing, his arm bumping into the person as a bag clattered to the ground. He hit the ground with a gasp. He saw stars.

Chase held his head where it hit the sidewalk, feeling a lump already forming.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!"

He stopped, eyes widening. Gulping, Chase slowly looked up with a numb feeling, already knowing who's voice that was (though he was hoping it was just his concussion). His stomach was nww doing full flips and twists that would compare to that of a circus act.

"C-Charlemagne?!"

* * *

A/N: Review review review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to Chasexjinjaforever and monsuno power for the reviews. Enjoy!

* * *

There were plenty of times where Chase had been surprised speechless. The day that he had come home from school to find the apartment in shambles, the emptying feeling of what could've happened to his father sent him into a panic. He hadn't even moved from the doorway until he managed to call Bren and Jinja and ask for them to come by. That sort of shock was something that left him feeling unsure of everything, unable to really make a coherent thought. He had hoped something like that wouldn't happen again.

Of course, when it came to monsuno, anything was possible.

Chase sat there, head still throbbing, absolutely in awe at the blonde woman standing in front of him. Sure it was the old Commandant Marshall, but at the same time it couldn't possibly be her.

"Oh I'm sorry!" she said, holding a hand out for him to take. Chase just sat there, staring in shock. Numbly, he let his himself be helped up, knowing that if it were up to him, he'd gladly sit on the ground until he woke up from the craziness. As he rose, he took in her appearance fully.

Her hair was long, no longer cut and slicked down, but pulled into a loose side ponytail. She no longer had intense makeup, or a sneer, and instead had a soft glow to her face that was emphasized by the smile she had. There was also the matter of the large bulge where her belly was, poking out of the plain summer dress she wore. _That_ was certainly new.

"You're Jeredy's boy aren't you?" she said, her accent much daintier. He froze up, and she laughed at the reaction, "Oh don't worry. I won't tell him that you're out here in the city. I'm sure you have your reasons."

Chase blinked, then smile awkwardly, "Oh. R-Right! Yeah. I was supposed to go to the store and went to hang out with friends instead. I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything to him?"

He scratched the back of his head, trying to look somewhat panicked (though that was easy to do). Charlemagne hummed in thought, "I suppose I can. If a healthy young man can help with my bags here."

Chase frowned, then looked down to the ground and saw he had knocked one of her bags to the ground, some fruit and bread now spilling out.

"Oh! Sorry!" he exclaimed, picking it up feverishly.

"Normally I wouldn't ask such a favor, but with the next one coming, it's been a little hard managing on my own," she laughed, rubbing the bump where her stomach was. Chase gulped. Something about this whole situation was even odder then the previous days. Still, he just nodded and continued to follow along. Even if this was Charlemagne, it wasn't the commandant that he was used to, so why not go with it?

It wasn't like he was going to catch up with Droog by this point.

...

Chase was in awe (once again) as he came up to a simple house, up the walkway, and into the living room. A variety of pictures lined the walls and mantel much like his house, but in a more half-hazard manner that looked deliberate. The soft couch and armchair covered in blankets gave the room a warm feeling, despite there being some clutter on the coffee table.

"Ignore all that. My son was just doing his homework," Charlemagne said, walking past him into the kitchen. Chase felt numb at the comment. It was already hard to imagine her having a baby, so he could hardly imagine her already having one. Even the room itself felt backwards compared to the cold steel walls of S.T.O.R.M.. He was half expecting her to turn around and say this was a ploy to capture him. But given the situation, especially with what Droog had said, she was the least likely person to try and hurt him.

He followed her, taking a seat at the table in the middle of the kitchen as his legs got weaker. She placed the bags on the counter, then walked over to the stove top.

"Would you like a slice of pie?" she asked, holding up a pan. Chase felt his stomach immediately growl.

"N-No thank you," he said, trying to fight his hunger. He felt that if he ate something, there was a good chance it would come back up. Charlemange saw his expression and let out a small chuckle.

"Oh don't worry! My husband made it. It's blueberry," she said, already grabbing him a plate and fork, "I'm afraid I'm a terrible cook. I'd burn salad if it weren't already pre-made. And I doubt I'd actually eat any of it. My appetite hasn't quite been the same right now."

She placed a large slice on the plate and handed it to him with a soft grin. He felt his stomach do another lurch, and he had no choice but to dig in. The second he tasted it, he let out a small moan. He was taken back to when he spent days with Bren and his family for their home cooking. Somehow, this was on par, maybe even better!

"This is heavenly!" he said, sighing. Charlemagne let out a giggle, which immediately brought Chase out of his stupor. She sat down, bringing two cups and a lion-shaped teapot with her.

"Glad to know," she said, then leaned back with a sigh. There was the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut, along with a pair of feet running through.

"I'm going to the arcade with Sebastian mom!" a voice shouted. Chase couldn't see who it was as they rushed towards the stairs, but could assume by how they called Charlemagne 'mom'.

He felt sick again.

"Do your homework first! Then you can go!" she called back. There was a mumble as the footsteps trailed away. Chase raised a brow.

"Ignore him. He's a little rowdy," Charlemagne said, pouring tea into the cups and sliding one towards him, "Now, it looks like there's something on your mind. Was there something you'd like to talk about? You seemed rather panicked earlier- oh! Is the pie alright? You look like you're going to be sick."

Chase chewed slowly, trying to find his words. What was he supposed to say? 'Just feeling sick by how a maniacal dictator like you could have a family.' Or better yet, 'Hey I'm Chase Suno: the guy who ruined your army career by sending you to jail.' Well... Not necessarily him, more like his father and monsuno...

He mostly wanted to blame her for her actions, considering the amount of times she purposely tried to capture him and his friends, going as far as to create the Strike Squad and take on the world council. But the thought of saying that to this Charlemagne left a guilty feeling in his gut. Especially because of how _nice_ she was.

And the idea of him sitting at Charlemagne's dinner table was enough to make him gag on his own words.

"... Chase?" She asked, holding her cup in bother hands.

He put his fork down, now staring intensely down at the empty plate. This was wrong. This happy peaceful life. None of it felt natural, and he should've said something. Except...

He looked up, seeing her sip some tea and stir it with a small smile. Just beyond he could see photos on the fridge being held up by those touristy magnets, faces smiling back at him. Genuine smiles.

"... No. There's nothing really. I'm fine. Just a little bothered by something at school the other day," he said, looking up with a smile. She seemed to believe him and gave a nod. She stood up and walked over to the stove. Chase sighed. He couldn't say something now. Not when he knew that she was actually happy. After all, this wasn't the same woman that he had been fighting for the past year. Just like how it wasn't really his parents or his friends that he was talking to. He had already messed with Jinja too much to the point where he wasn't sure how to interact with her (if he ever saw her again).

Picking up his plate, he sat up and walked over to Charlemagne, who was starting to hum.

"Well... Thanks for the pie," he said.

"Oh don't thank me. It's always a pleasure to hear from Jeredy's family," she said, taking it. As soon as their hands slipped past each other, something flashed in Chase's vision.

It happened so fast, that by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to stop it.

…..

 _"Do not overestimate your chances of success. Simply because there are two of you. You cannot defeat me regardless."_

 _The core in hand flared bright yellow, heating her palm. She had tamed this beast through blood and sweat. And now she was going to use it to finally take down Jeredy Suno and his son!_

 _"Because I, and I alone control Driftblade!"_

…..

Chase pulled away as fast as he could. And quickly became aware of how he was standing blankly in the middle of a kitchen. It threw him off, thoughts of what happened minutes before struggling to be remembered. A whimper of pain brought him back. Blinking, his faze fell to the blonde woman hunched on the ground. He dropped to his knees.

"H-Hey!" he stuttered out, hands hovering close in an unsure gesture. Her expression was the same as Jinja's when she got a vision. Her eyes were wide, staring down at the ground as a cold sweat started to build upon her brow. Her shoulders were shaking hard, and it looked like she would break down at any moment.

"Um… Miss…" Chase started, reaching for her shoulder.

His hand never got there. Instead, the sound of a harsh slap resounded in the kitchen.

It was so unexpected, that Chase's head snapped to the side and was left staring at the living room. He froze, feeling heat and pain radiating on his cheek. Numbly, he turned to see Charlemagne now glaring at him with contempt that rivaled that when she battled him. His stomach dropped immensely.

"Ch-Charlema-"

" _Get out!"_

She stood up, now looming over him with a glare that he had become too familiar with. Chase gulped, crawling back.

" _Get out of my house right now!"_

Chase got to his feet, not bothering to excuse himself or turn around, keeping his gaze on the blonde woman as he backed painfully into the wall and stumbled towards the door.

It was only when he bumped into someone that he turned completely around and fled out the door, the sound of Charlemagne's soft cries trailing farther behind.

…..

The bus went by without even stopping, jetting off down the street.

Of course, Chase had been sitting well away from the actual stop on a bench next to a convenient store. He wanted to hop right on and hope that it took him far back to where he belonged.

He let out a sigh, leaning back until he was looking up at the orange sky, "that could've gone so much better."

He closed his eyes, still hearing the sound of Charlemagne's screaming. It caught him so off guard that he practically flew out of the house and half way across the city without even realizing it.

But it was obvious why he needed to.

He was sitting there, in her house. Having a normal conversation like normal people did. But he had to go and screw things up and ruin what little civility she had. It made sense why she would have a reaction like that, considering how opposite she was to the Charlemagne that Chase knew. If what Jinja said before about feelings being force, it probably tore her up to feel so hate filled for power.

For one of the first times he could think of, Chase was feeling guilty about monsuno.

And that just made the reality of things set in.

Chase truly didn't belong here.

Droog had said it before, but now it was so plain as day that all he wanted to do was scream and shout at every person until his throat was raw or he passed out. And trying to bring monsuno up here just disrupted everything. Everything he had tried had been going bad this whole time.

He needed to get out of here...

He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out the paper slips that he was given. He couldn't read it at all, and could only assume that it was for transportation. Hopefully, it would bring him to where he needed to go.

Chase got back to his feet, feeling the soreness traveling up his thighs. He winced, taking a few steps towards the bus before being bumped into by a passerby.

"Watch it!" they shouted, making sure to shove Chase a bit harder as he stumbled briefly. He didn't bother responding, stepping aside and looking up at the shop that he had been sitting next to for the past hour.

And it was just like that did he get his next clue.

Staring up at the window, there was a colorful poster that was on display. There wasn't anything significant about it other then the flashy figure on it and the metallic sparkles all over in a rather gaudy show. But the writing that was enlarged was something that he instantly recognized.

He dug into his pocket again and looked onto the little slip of paper. His eyes went up and down until he was sure.

It wasn't a ticket to a bus or train at all.

It was a show ticket.

"Excuse me!" he said, tapping the shoulder of a girl as she went by. She gave him an up down look before removing the large headphones she bore.

"What?"

"Um… Where is that show taking place?" he asked, pointing at the poster, "I uh… Am lost…?"

She raised a brow at him in an 'are you serious?' look before sighing. She pulled out her phone, tapping loudly and showing him a map. He saw the little pin of where the show was, as well as where they were at the moment. He memorized the streets and turns, half muttering them under his breath.

"Thanks!" he said over his shoulder as he took off, not caring if he was acting like a lost tourist. At this point he was committed to that idea.

Six blocks down and through a crosswalk later, Chase was looking up at a large concert hall where a large crowd was gathered. Search lights were already up even with the sunset still out.

"Well… Never been to a concert before," Chase sighed, smiling a little at the cheers and laughing of the crowd around him.

He had quickly forgotten the exchange that he had earlier.

Or rather, he pushed it out of his mind as hard as he could along with the guilt.

….

 _"What are you doing here Droog?"_

 _"…"_

 _"Chase! Don't just jump off like that! At least wait for the rest of us!"_

 _"… So you've all arrived have you? That was faster then I thought."_

 _"Wait. What're you going on about?"_

 _"I had assumed that you all would arrive, but without the necessary precautions up, I may be outnumbered…"_

 _"I think he's talking to himself."_

 _"Hey Droog! We're here to stop you!"_

 _"… Bren, what's that beeping noise?"_

 _"Oh!… Uh… It's just the core tablet…. Hm…"_

 _"Whether or not you've all arrived sooner doesn't matter. I'll still find the Alternative."_

 _"The what now? I think you just need to be knocked down a few notches! Deepsix-"_

 _"Hold on Chase!"_

 _"Ah! What is it Bren?"_

 _"You know how your dad wanted us to check on the monsuno activity here?'_

 _"Uh… Yeah...?"_

 _"Well… We found it. But it's not looking too good!"_

….

He was so excited about the show that he failed to realize just how _long_ it would be before he actually got inside the concert hall. Currently, Chase was stuck between a gaggle of girls that were becoming increasingly louder for every step they took, and a man who was trying his best to look like he wasn't here. Of course, the line itself was moving small steps every few minutes, with Chase shuffling along in a manner that resembled a penguin. He looked down at the ticket in his hand.

"I really hope this is the right one," he muttered, looking back up at one of the large screens that displayed the name on the ticket in bright neon letters. It looked similar enough, but there was no telling if it was _exactly_ the same. For all he knew this would just be a dead end.

He looked down at the ticket again, feeling anxious.

What if this was just a dead end? He was hoping for the best and that this would be a substantial lead on what was going on, but there was a good chance this was just something to keep him out of the way. He wouldn't be suprised if that were the case, considering how he was already here for a week running around blindly.

"... I really hope this isn't a false lead," he sighed. There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see one of the girls looking at him with a shy look.

"... Yes?"

"Oh! Um... It's just... That," she stuttered, now shifting from one foot to the other. The girls behind her were all giggling even more, "shush! Um... Well... I was just wondering if maybe... You were here with someone?"

The corner of Chase's mouth twitched, as did his eye. What was with everyone trying to ask him out?!

"Um.. Yeah I am, meeting them here actually," Chase said, diggin in his pocket as fast as he could to fish out another slip of paper. He flashed the two pieces, relieved to see the girl's face turn sour as soon as she saw it. But then she squinted closer to the tickets.

"... Wait... What're you doing here?" she said, looking like she wanted to snatch the pieces out of Chase's hands. He was quicker though, pulling them close when she got a little too interested.

"What do you mean?" he asked. She rolled her eyes. One of the other girls came up to them, seeing how the situation was going. She looked to the tickets and let out a small gasp.

"Those are for the balcony seats! The line for that is on the other side of the building!" she said, a rather greedy look in her eyes. Then she switched and started eyeing Chase with an intense look.

"I bet that stuff you just said was a lie. How you were waiting for someone," she said coyly, "I bet you're actually her to pick up on girls aren't you? That's what most guys who come to these shows do."

Chase inwardly groaned, wondering what kind of show he was about to go to right now. He took a step back when the group of girls started to stare at him with looks that were similar to Jinja's earlier today, "Oh would you look at that! I have to go to the other line!"

He turned tail and immediately shot off towards the back of the building.

He wasn't sure why he was running, considering how those girls probably wouldn't follow him. But he didn't exactly feel like he was doing anything for the past few minutes just standing around. At least he was moving at this point.

It took him a while to reach the far side of the stadium, although the line here was exponentially smaller then the line that he used to be standing in.

After five minutes, he came up to the glass doors, a man standing there checking the tickets.

"Ticket sir," he said, holding a hand out with a grin. There was a brief moment of panic as Chase recognized the black, toothy grin the man gave him. Instead of reacting like he had been for the past few days, Chase held out one of the slips of paper. The man looked at it, then raised a brow, "Sorry there kid. This is for general seating."

"Wait. What?"

The man pointed to one of the words, "See? 'general seating'."

Chase frowned, unable to read any of it. He dug in his pockets again and pulled out a few more, finding one that was different.

"How about this one?" he asked. The man had a baffled look on his face at the amount of tickets that Chase had pulled out. He took it with a bit of a shaky hand, and blinked a few times.

"Oh... Yes. Of course," he said, then cleared his throat,"Up the staircase. Right down the hall to the left. Fifth door."

Chase nodded, taking his ticket back and marching up the stairs. He couldn't help but notice the fancy metal and glass stair case as it led up to an even fancier looking hall way. Or maybe it was just because of how empty and clean it was. He shook his head instead going over to the left.

"Let's see... He said fifth door," Chase muttered to himself, passing by a few people still clamoring around. It wasn't as crowded as the line, and it was clear that this must've been exclusive seating by the look of what everyone was wearing.

(He suddenly felt extremely self conscious of his plain blue jacket and combat boots)

He got to the door, and inhaled deeply. Whoever sent him the tickets was probably waiting for him behind this door. Whether they had answers on monsuno, or why he was here, they would tell him something.

"I sure hope so at least," he sighed, then pushed the door open.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever for the review. Yeah. This fic is still going on, though I honestly thought it'd be wrapped up by this chapter. But after sitting down and separating a lot of the writing into short chapters, it's got a few ways to go (obviously not nearly as long as the other fics I've written though).

Enjoy!

* * *

The concert hall was not what he expected.

Of course, Chase wasn't sure what to expect given that the entire building was practically a giant stadium. He couldn't help but think that perhaps this was where a lot of sports teams played, based on the posters that he had passed by in the halls. But it wasn't obvious by the look of the giant stage that was taking up the room.

He was left in a booth that was elevated above the rest of the ground floor, overlooking the stage in the center (whoever gave him these seats must've been generous, though he could hardly see the stage). The room that he opened into was well lit, with a table of small appetizers and deserts, along with drinks in a bucket of ice. There were a few people already inside, chatting among themselves while holding the finger foods on napkins.

Further in, Chase could see where the room led to other open doors that led into the concert room. He stood in the doorway of one, seeing a variety of people swarming along to find their seats. Now that he thought about it, Chase had only ever been to one concert in his whole life. That being the opera that he tracked One-Eyed Jack to just to drop a hint of monsuno energy being used by Klipse.

Of course, that small little theatre didn't even compare to the giant stadium he was in.

"Excuse me."

Someone moved past him, taking a seat towards the front of the balcony. Chase stared briefly, but let out a sigh when he realized they weren't familiar.

The lights overhead started to dim, and the crowd let out a large cheer. A few people got on the stage, but they were probably the starting band by the look of it. Immediately the man leading let out a whoop, getting a few cheers. Chase couldn't really make out who it was.

He looked back to the first room, taking note of everyone. For the most part, none of them were really familiar. Even in the slightest way.

Chase stared down at his feet.

Was this really just a dead end?

He wouldn't put it past Droog to have him looking for false leads. But there was a good feeling that he got when first coming inside. There had to be something here.

He walked back to the main room and grabbed one of the bottles of water from the table, taking a long drink. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was, but there was a lot of things that he hadn't noticed in the past few days. He glanced up, and saw a few decorative mirrors on the wall. In the dim light, he could see that there was a splotch of pie on his jacket.

Thoughts of Charlemagne popped up, and a shiver went through him.

He let out another sigh, deciding to let his thoughts be drowned out by the starting band. Whoever sent him the tickets probably wasn't going to show up until the main event. He had some time to at least wash the blueberry off and look somewhat decent. Chase walked back out into the hallway and headed for the restroom.

When he got to the large restroom with mirrors lining the walls leading up to the sinks and toilets, Chase was in awe. But not by the actual room itself. He was surprised by the reflection that he saw. Slowly, he went up to the closest one, warm lights over the marble counter left to support him as his legs went weak.

What little sleep he got left him with dark circles under his eyes and skin more pale then usual. His hair wasn't as shiny, and lacked a certain fluff to it. Even his clothes seemed to just be haphazardly thrown on. Had he really been walking around like this the whole day?

(Did he really show up to talk to Jinja like this? Why did she even want to confess to him if he looked so rugged?)

He rubbed his face, letting his hands trail up to ruffle his hair. He was somewhat repulsed when he felt how oily it was and ran to run some water over his hands. He stood there for a moment letting the cold water numb his hands. With a huff, he quickly relieved himself in one of the stalls before going back to the sinks, running the hot water and scooping generous amounts over his head. He switched it back to the cold.

Chase let it all run over, not caring if he got most of the counter top wet. He was even willing to use the hand soap to wash the sweat from his face. He was tempted to use it for his hair, but knew he'd never get it all out. Instead, he just ran more water over his head, bending over and leaning under the tap. He let out a small gasp as the chill woke him more.

Afterwards, Chase stumbled into the mirrored room, wiping the water off with one of the hand towels. When he looked at his reflection, he had already gained a bit more of his glow.

But he had also noticed that he failed to wash off the blueberry.

...

It seemed like his trip to the bathroom must've been longer then he thought. As Chase came to the room with the balcony, the band from before had already been replaced by another, and were well into a song. It was somewhat familiar, but chances were he had heard it from the radio at one point.

Chase let out a sigh, waves of exhaustion already going over him after his little restroom panic. He felt somewhat better, but given that he hadn't actually showered in a while was probably the reason.

Looking over towards the table, he felt his stomach growl as the plate of mini hot dogs suddenly looked very appetizing. Deciding to indulge himself, Chase went over and started picking a few up by the toothpicks and plopping them in his mouth. He let out a small moan, finding that they were better then hot dogs (which they probably weren't). He started to pick up the other small foods when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey kid."

He turned around to see a large figure looming over him. Chase almost choked again, realizing it was one of Medea's hired hands. But by the suit, it was obvious he was security.

"D-Don't worry! I got a ticket!" Chase stammered, shoving the handful of chips into his mouth before fishing out his ticket and holding it up.

"It's not that," Arg said, leaning closer, "You're wanted back stage."

Chase gulped, feeling the saltiness of the chips on his tongue still, "I don't have a backstage pass..?"

The large man grinned, and held out a piece of plastic on a lanyard, the letters "V.I.P." bolded in white. Chase's lips quirked as his eye twitched. He glanced back towards the concert.

"I'm pretty sure I'll miss the show," he said, trying to creep away. Arg took his arm in one giant hand, and held out the small card again.

"I was told _no_ exceptions," he said, and started tugging Chase towards the door, his arm already starting to go numb.

He let out a sigh and grabbed the piece of plastic, hearing the other band already get done.

They took a quick route to the back, despite how far from the actual stage they were. It was significantly less crowded, with roadies and helpers running around to get equipment and props. Chase had never gone to something like this, so he couldn't help but stop and stare every so often, especially since he was released from the large man.

"This way," Arg said. Chase ran after, passing by a door with the nameplate 'manager' on it, cards and notes already tapped on it. He raised a brow, but continue until they were at a door with the letters 'VIP' on instead. Arg pushed him towards it with one nudge, and turned around as if to stand guard. Quickly, Chase pushed the door open.

What he had seen was surprising, and even more unexpected.

Inside was a large, extravagant lounging room, with an even larger screen on the far wall that displayed the concert going on. Chairs and cushions were in the sunk in center, a bar running along the right wall. A few people were wandering about, also with backstage passes hanging on their necks. But all of that seemed to fade into the background as he stared ahead at gray eyes that landed on him as soon as he walked through the door. Despite all the hustle and bustle that happened the entire day, seeing those eyes brought him comfort, and suddenly the stress on his shoulders loosened immensely.

Before he could move any further, the large screens started to flash as the lights above dimmed down; a live view of the concert on display right now.

A figure stepped onto the stage, and Chase let out a gasp as a melodic voice filled the room.

" _The French… Are glad to die~... For love."_

The song started out slow, only the crowd being heard with the voice of the once mute woman. Chase could feel everyone else staring up at the screen as soft jazz started to ring out.

All except the white-haired teen, who was sitting on the couch in front of him. Chase took a few steps towards him, letting out a long breath that he didn't realize that he was holding.

"Beyal."

….

 _"The fact that you're all here just means that I don't have much time left... I'll have to hurry and move before it disappears and I lose my chance."_

 _"Alright guys. It's time that we-"_

 _"Chase!"_

 _"Ack! What?!"_

 _"We have to find the source of the monsuno essence! The reading on the Core Tablet are going off the charts!"_

 _"Right! Uh. After we deal with him. Droog!"_

 _"..."_

 _"Um... You better prepare yourself for a fight! Cause things are about to get ugly! Deepsix!"_

 _"Neo-Quickforce!"_

 _"Whipper!"_

 _"Bioblaze!"_

 _"Mysticblade!"_

 _"Launch!"_

 _"…"_

 _"Well? Where's your monsuno Droog? Or do you already know you've given up? That definitely makes it easier for us-"_

 _"Where is the lynchpin at Chase?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"You're monsuno, Locke. Where. Is. It? If you don't show it to me, I'm afraid you'll be in more trouble then you think."_

 _"... As much as I'd love to have my partner whoop your butt around, I think you can deal with just the five of us! Deepsix, terra torpedo!"_

…..

"It's good to see you again Chase. Though you do look a bit… Fatigued."

Chase walked right up to the other, his lips twitching into a smile. He was glad to have finally found the last member of his team, especially since he was the only one so far who believed him about monsuno.

"How did you even find me? What're we doing here?" Chase asked, but could somewhat put it together from watching the screen above. Clearly Bekka had become some sort of pop idol (how did he not recognize her voice from the radio?), and just reinforced the idea that everything in this world was topsy-turvey.

"It was actually pretty easy. You're quite popular here," Beyal responded, and held up his phone. Chase peered closer, seeing a picture of himself on it with a small biography from the school he went to. It was a little creepy knowing that kind of information was out on him, but it was all pretty useless stuff like his favorite color and sports he played (lacrosse. Why would anyone play lacrosse?).

But then he noticed something off about that picture. Before he could question it, Beyal sat back down, gazing back down at the small screen.

"Well. I guess you ought to sit down and explain everything," Beyal said, gesturing towards the couch. Chase plopped right on, letting himself sink into the comfortable cushion with a sigh. After getting himself situated, he leaned up a little.

"You should start from the beginning," Beyal said, "Just… Start from what you know about monsuno. I think that'll be the easiest"

At first he kept things at a minimum, only talking about how his father helped find monsuno and the core technology. But then he realized that he _needed_ to talk about their enemies in case they were also the reason he was there (he wouldn't put it past Klipse to have teamed up with Droog for some help). But Chase still found himself hesitating on talking about the rest of his friends and the time that they spent together, if only because Dax's reaction to what he said was less then perfect. Instead, he made it more about what could've gotten him here.

"-and then it was just... Nothing. I just woke up in the park on a bench in the middle of the night with no way of telling how I even got there," Chase sighed, feeling tired after having to explain in better detail of everything that had happened within the past week. Beyal had taken it surprisingly well, not interrupting with questions or comments about how insane Chase sounded. He half expected the other teen to walk away or say that this was just a setup meant to distract him, but if Jinja, Bren, and Dax were practically the same, Chase had to believe that Beyal was still as trustful as before.

Of course one of two people gave him looks in the middle of his rambling of monsuno, but didn't bother them in the slightest. It was towards the end of the first set did everyone in the room mostly started to to mill about again, broken by the spell that Bekka had cast with her voice. The bartender was shaking the bottle along to the beat as he made a few drinks for the ones near by. Even though things were strange today, he was somewhat reassured by the fact that there was at least one person here that believed him about monsuno.

Still, Chase couldn't help but think that this was somewhat reminiscent of when he saw Dax the other day, with the monk's appearance practically the same besides his clothes. In fact, he wore practically the same thing, although there weren't any tears or rips along the edges of his shirt or pants, practically brand new. He also didn't have his cloak, or any of his jewelry, the only thing being a small silver chain with a green stone.

But that wasn't all.

He hadn't noticed it until he started talking, but there was a difference in the monk's demeanor that made Chase start to question whether he would be any real help to him. Sure Beyal was listening to him seriously, but he was also _slouching_ on the couch with a bored expression despite all the fancy fixings and lights surrounding them, tapping away on his phone. Everywhere outside Tebab, the monk was always up and about and asking questions every opportunity he had. Here he was just... Uninterested.

"That does sound weird," the white haired teen said, finally looking up, "And you just lost your monsuno? They just vanished? Are you're sure you didn't lose them?"

Chase sighed, throwing a pillow over his own face wanting to scream in it, "Yes. I am sure. And Droog seems to be in the same boat. He's looking for something. But he's stuck here with me..."

He removed the pillow, staring up at the high ceiling, "I don't get it. Why would we be here if he's looking for something having to do with monsuno? It doesn't exist here. My dad never created the core technology."

"Well... I wouldn't say that it doesn't exist here..."

Chase perked up, looking over to Beyal who was now shifting in his seat.

"What?"

"It... I'm certain that it exists here. I've seen it. I've seen the monsuno," he sighed, suddenly looking very tired, "But there's a problem-"

The sound of a crowd got louder. The two looked over towards a pair of doors on the far side of the room, which quickly opened. Bekka strolled through, holding a bottle of water in one hand as three others followed close behind. A few fans were being pushed out the doors by two large guards.

"I can't believe we still have another two sets to go," one of the three said with a sigh, moving towards the bar with the other two. Bekka glanced around the room, quickly saying greetings to some of the people before heading towards Beyal.

She only took two steps before also spotting Chase, her happy expression quickly turning. She marched right up to the teen, who started to back up immediately.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. Chase flopped backwards when the back of his knees hit the couch. He held his hands up.

"N-Now hold on!"

"Wait a moment!" Beyal said, stepping between them, "I invited him. He's the one that Pozzo gave the tickets to for me."

Bekka looked down at the white-haired teen, then up at Chase. He gulped. She sighed, placing both hands on her brother's shoulders.

"I told you not to pursue this anymore!" she said, "There's no point to it. I already told you-"

"But there is!"Beyal said, brushing her hands off, "He's seen them! He's seen monsuno. I'm not-"

"BEKKA!"

They all jumped at the new voice that joined the room, doors slamming open. Chase turned around to the brown-haired man that strutted inside with a laugh. He wore a neat brown suit that looked like it was thrown on at the last second, some of the buttons in the wrong place while a familiar patch covered his left eye. He practically soared over the couches towards the three, landing with a tip of his hate.

"I'm so glad to see your performance going so well~ah!" he said, wrapping an arm around her and gazing up at the screen that still displayed the stage, "You had me worried when you wanted to leave the city early, but I can see that was just a ruse! I knew you could pull off a stunning performance! As usual, and we still have two more hours!."

Chase laughed. Not bitterly. Genuine laughter. The man turned to Chase with a raised brow, the smile never leaving his face.

"Oh? Made a new friend did you? About time you did," he said peering down at Beyal before extending a hand out. Chase was surprised to see that it was normal rather then made of metal, though it was extremely scarred up.

"The name's Jack!" he boomed, "And I am the manager of the angelic singer that you have just heard! Quite amazing am I right?"

Chase's lips quirked a bit, taking his hand, "Chase. And it sure was. I can't believe you're still the same. But really? A manager? I knew you liked music, but a manager?"

After vigorously shaking Chase's hand, Jack stroked his chin in thought, "You obviously have seen my other work to know my tastes. But yes! I have seen beauty in the bleakest corners of the world, and wish to share everything! I gave up my life as a soldier stationed in the west for a life in the arts!"

"He had a friend or something that helped him get into business," Beyal whispered, then frowned, "though I have to say. He's as loony as he is loud."

Jack turned on his heel and snapped his fingers. The bar keep ran over with a glass before hurrying back to his place. The one-eyed man threw back the liquid in one gulp before turning to the short-haired woman, who was openly glaring at Chase.

"Make sure that the encore is just as spectacular!" he said, "Oh! Reveal the new song you've been working on! The one we started to rehearse!"

"I don't think so," Bekka said, removing his hand from her arm.

"Nonsense!" he barked, immediately grabbing her shoulders with his other arm and hurrying her away, "We need to start getting the new album out! And this is a great opportunity! Give the people what they want! Release them with the beauty of your soul!"

She glared daggers at Chase over her shoulder, but allowed herself to be pulled away towards the rest of the band members.

Beyal sighed, plopping back onto the couch.

"So... Do you have to deal with that a lot?" Chase asked.

"A lot more then I should," he sighed, propping his feet up, "But I guess it's better then... Well. It's better then a few months ago."

"What do you mean?" Chase asked, now realizing that he failed to question how the white-haired teen even got into this situation. This time it was Beyal who grabbed a pillow and covered his face, not budging in the least bit.

Chase glanced over towards the bar, and walked over. He grabbed two cups of water and went back to the small circle of couches. He offered one of the cups, Beyal taking it after a moment.

"So... How'd that even happen?" Chase decided to ask, staring towards the group that were being talked at be Jack.

"He had an accident with a grenade I think," Beyal said, stirring the cup lazily and watching the ice, "He always changes the story. It burned half his body and-"

"N-No. Not Jack," Chase corrected, "I meant with you. And Bekka. Why aren't you two at the temple? Or at least the library?"

Beyal stopped abruptly, lowering the glass with a shaky hand. Chase hadn't noticed, and kept the questions going.

"This is kind of a drastic change from the mountains isn't it? And what happened to Master Ey? I thought he'd be here. He's the one I actually thought who'd give me an answer since he knew everything about monsuno-"

"The temple is gone. It's been gone," Beyal said, voice getting lighter as his eyes became shadowed, "They were... It was..."

Chase finally noticed there was something wrong, leaning a little closer, "Um... Beyal? Are you-"

"... My head hurts," he muttered, hunching over. From the corner of his eye, Chase could see Bekka now staring at the two. He looked to see that there was panic as she tried to squirm away from Jack.

He looked to Beyal, and quickly realized what was happening. For a split second, he questioned on what to do. But his reaction was immediate before he could question if it was the wrong thing to do. Because unlike Jinja or Charlemagne, Beyal would be the one who needed a vision to help him.

As Bekka finally broke away from Jack, Chase reached forward and took a hold of Beyal's hand, and fell into the memories just like the other times...

* * *

A/N: The lyric of the song Bekka starts with is from Moulin Rouge (if anyone was wondering). Kept watching it a lot this week while trying to write Relapse (yes. It's going to update this week).

Review Review Review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and monsuno power for the reviews.

Enjoy!

* * *

...

 _"They will be the ones who will save the world. The destiny of the Five Tribes foretells it."_

 _The torch light flickered in the old room, the large writings on display in front of them. The old man turned around, and walked over with an unreadable expression._

 _"And you must guide him. The one who will lead monsuno and mankind as one. He is the one who will unite the world with the monsuno sight. I cannot be the one to show him his gift. That, is your responsibility."_

 _"I... understand. Master Ey."_

 _The man smiled. It was hard to tell by the long white beard on his face, but his eyes glistened in the torch light._

 _"I'm afraid that this is something that you will have to do alone, without the help of the others or myself" he said, looking off to the side and watching the fire, "A shadow is descending upon the library, and I'm afraid it's already here amongst us. We'll need to move to the temple. You need to go first."_

 _"But what about-"_

 _"I'll will be there in a few days," Master Ey interrupted, "I need to check on something."_

 _It grew silent. This was one of the only halls in the library that was quiet, separated away from the main halls. It was perfect for meditating, but was usually left empty._

 _"... But know one thing," the old man continued, "I had not noticed it before, but there is something else in the writings. Even after the prophecy is completed, there was one thing that stood out that makes me question if the world will truly be at peace. Something called the-"_

"Beyal!"

Chase felt himself be shoved roughly out of the way, missing the couch and landing on the floor. He was dazed, not just from the fall, but from being forced out of the vision so quickly. He had to admit that it was good to know that he got a vision-and consequently Beyal did- but there was something wrong with it that he couldn't place. Before he could question it, he heard a shout that got his attention.

He propped himself on his arms, now noticing that everyone had been rushed out of the room except the staff, Jack, and the three band members. A choked sound made him look back to Beyal, who was trying his best to get out of Bekka's grasp all the while muttering something under his breath. His eyes were wide, darting around the room as if seeing something flying around that no one else could see.

"Calm down! They're not real! Everything's okay," Bekka tried to say calmly, but failed to hide the panic in her voice. She snapped her fingers a few times at the staff, who started running about. One of the larger came over, and Chase recognized him as the other member of the Desert Wolves. Before he could do anything, a hand grabbed his arm and jerked him to his feet.

"C'mon kid. Let's go," one of the security guards said. Chase didn't bother trying to follow or argue. Instead, he snapped out of the grasp and made straight for Beyal. Bekka saw him coming along, and moved in between.

"You stay away from him!" she hissed, two guards coming up and grabbing both of Chase's arms. He was hoisted up and dragged backwards.

"W-wait! Stop!" he shouted, "I need to know! I need to know why things are the way that they are! You know about monsuno! They exist here! So why are you keeping it a secret?"

His response surprised her. Bekka took a step back, unsure of what to say. Instead, she turned her attention back to Beyal as he started slumping in Pozzo's hold, still muttering under his breath.

"... Dear boy," Jack suddenly said, walking up to him with a serious look. He shoo-ed the guards away and linked his arm with Chase's, "I believe we need to talk. Privately."

He turned to the former Desert Wolves, and nodded to the large man. Pozzo nodded back, ushering Beyal towards the doorway on the far side of the room. Bekka took two steps before Jack stopped her.

"Hold on," he said, "You need to get back on stage."

She had a look of confusion that turned to anger, "What? Is that really all you can say right-"

"You can't do anything more for him," Jack said, looking her sternly in the eye. They both glared daggers at each other. Chase watched as Beyal started to stumble over his own feet, getting scooped up by Pozzo as one of the staff members followed behind. Chase gave another glance to Jack and Bekka, taking small steps in the other direction. He was close to finally getting answers, and he wasn't about to lose them!

Bekka sighed, "Fine. But you better make sure HE-" she pointed at Chase, who froze at the attention, "doesn't get near Beyal again!"

She turned on her heel, her band mates all following with concerned looks. She made sure that the white-haired teen was out of the room before leaving. Chase stood there awkwardly, feeling some of the stares from the staff.

When no one reentered the room, Jack let out a sigh, walking over to the bar and waving to the bartender. When the glass of brown liquid slid in front of him, he nodded before watching it. Chase waited, not sure if he was going to turn his attention to him or not. Glancing back at the other door that he saw the white-haired monk leave through, he took a few steps towards it. None of the staff paid him anymore attention, so he went ahead and tried the handle. It stuck fast. Locked.

"Crag."

He looked back to Jack, guessing that the man knew that he wouldn't have a choice but to stay. Of course, there was always the option of leaving the concert hall entirely, but the answers he had been looking for were just beyond that door. Maybe if he managed to, he could convince the one-eyed man to let him through.

Chase went back over to the bar area. Jack still hadn't taken a drink, now swishing the liquid around in circles as his eyes followed the motion. The teen sat down, clearing his throat.

"Um.. Jack," he started slowly, "So uh... Did you want to talk? Or at least explain to me what the crag is going on around here? What are you doing here? Why isn't Beyal and Bekka with Master Ey?" Chase frowned briefly, "Uh… Do you know who that is?"

Jack's expression changed, turning even more solemn. He turned and stared at Chase for a moment. Seeing the honest expression Chase held, the man shuffled in his seat before responding.

"... I suppose I might as well tell you the truth," the one eyed man said, "The one who you refer to as Master Ey. He is long since passed."

Chase watched as Jack set the glass down, now poking at the ice inside. It didn't actually surprise Chase, which somewhat disturbed himself. But given that Master Ey had passed on in his world, maybe it made sense that happened here if the time was the same.

"I was a soldier stationed in the east," Jack said, getting Chase's attention, "Far east, in the mountains. We were in pursuit of a man who we assumed was making some sort of weapon, going on about something called 'monsuno'. He was desperate, starting a fight with the people who lived there. We barely got there in time because of an ambush. It was a horrid sight to come across. "

Jack grew quieter, his expression turning dark.

"... I was one of the only soldiers to get away, pursuing the man into a cave. That was where the thing that took out my eye was," he said, gently stroking the side of his face, "I came across it by chance, and glowing green pool of energy. I saw visions of something inside! I heard the voices of everyone! And everything! Of course, I had blacked out after that, finding that I was left with one eye..."

He paused to take a drink. Chase knew that the pool must've been monsuno essence. But the question was whether Jack knew that. Still, the teen ignored that for another pressing question.

"… So, what happened to Master Ey?" Chase asked. Jack let out a bitter laugh before downing the rest of his drink. He face twisted a little, but he didn't stop. When it was empty, he shook the glass, signaling the bartender.

"After I got out of the cave and found the rest of my squad, we eventually found the one who sent out the distress call, the one you refer to as Master Ey.," Jack continued, "... But even he..."

A soft voice resounded in the room, and Chase looked over to the large screen to see Bekka back on stage with the rest of the band. Her expression was... Sad. The song wasn't like anything that he had heard so far, instead going slow to a melodic piano. Even the blue light illuminating her was such a switch of tone, that Chase couldn't help but wonder if she was purposely singing that way because of what just occurred.

"... That was what she was sing **i** ng when I found the two of them," Jack said, taking the newly refilled glass, "After I deserted the army, I was trying to clear my head through traveling the world. She was only thirteen, carrying around a little baby in the middle of the desert. She was hysterical, making the same exclamations that crazy man did in the mountains for 'monsuno'. I reassured her that there wasn't anything like 'monsuno' out there."

He turned back to the screen, watching the woman trail along the stage, "I convinced her to join me on my travels. We were halfway around the world when I decided that I needed a change of pace. When I got into the music business, things started looking up. I had found something that I had enjoyed doing. She was able to sing. And we never mentioned this 'monsuno' again. At least _I_ didn't."

Jack sighed, rubbing his face. Chase frowned, and looked to the man, "but... If you never talked about it. How does Beyal even know about it?"

Chase already knew the answer. But he needed to confirm it.

"He had visions. Dreams that we had dismissed," Jack said, "I thought that they were nothing, just childish ramblings made up by stories Bekka told him. He had an overactive imagination, saying that he saw a giant snake with three heads, and a boy with black hair and teal blue eyes."

Jack looked to Chase, staring straight at him. The teen gulped and turned away.

"It was cute at first, but then it got... Disturbing. At one point I woke up to find him on top of me shouting that I was a murderer, that I had killed his master," Jack said staring back up at the screen. There was a shadow in his eyes. Chase recognized it from his father's gaze. Guilt.

"I hadn't even been there when the people of Tebab were killed, trapped in that godforsaken cave," Jack said, looking down, "And Bekka had kept their origins a secret out of respect for her father. It was only after his fit did I realize that he was sleepwalking."

Bekka's voice trailed off, the lights fading into darkness as the crowd erupted into cheers.

"After the visions got more violent, I told Bekka we'd get him help. I knew a doctor from my old days in the army and explained the situation. He reassured me that they would have the right treatment, only to find out that it mostly consisted of large doses of drugs. As soon as she found out Bekka was furious, and swore to never let him out of her sight."

Jack looked to Chase, his expression mirroring Bekka's on stage. It was only there for a brief second, but she looked back up to the crowd with a confident smirk as the music picked up, "It was four months ago when we finally got him out of that place. But of course he still claims to be seeing these monsuno. And I told Bekka if he starts acting up again, something will need to be done. I'm sure that's why she's been so persistent on keeping him closed off from the world."

Chase was silent, watching the screen as well. It was so strange to hear about everything, given that he should've expected such a drastic change. Beyal had been around monsuno all his life after all.

And yet.

Somewhere, there were still monsuno out there! If the energy was still out there, something kept monsuno from being developed. Something kept his father from creating the core technology, and in turn all of their lives.

Chase got to his feet, still intending to go after Beyal and ask what he knew about monsuno in this world. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Jack looking intensely at him.

"You do realize, that I can't let you go now," he said. Before Chase knew it, two hands grabbed him and yanked him off his feet. He looked to both sides, seeing Grandma Future's old hired hands.

"Wh-what are-"

"This way," Jack said, not waiting as he led the way to the exit. Chase panicked, kicking his legs in the air trying to hit the other two. He didn't even come close. And it didn't take them long to get to one of the fire exits.

"H-Hold on!" he shouted, "You have to let me talk to Beyal! If monsuno are out there I have to-"

Jack opened the exit door, roughly shoving Chase out. The teen stumbled a few times, and quickly turned back around. The man blocked the way back in, the two hired hands going back inside.

"Jack. I know you're probably just doing your job, but you have to let me back in!" Chase said, " Beyal knows something, and so does Bekka... I need to know what's going on around here. I need to get back home! I need to see my friends and my monsuno again!"

The man crossed his arms, lips set in a frown, "Did you just hear yourself? Just now?"

Chase raised a brow. To anyone else, he probably sounded deranged and half out of his mind. But that was the furthest from the truth. He just needed to leave this strange place and get back to the place with monsuno. Real monsuno. Jack let out a sigh.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, "To stir up trouble for my top performer? To go in and cause trouble with her brother? It's obvious that you were invited here by him, but why exactly did you come here?"

Chase was silent. As much as he wanted to tell the one-eyed man about how he didn't belong here, he couldn't trust him. For all he knew, Jack would lock him up as soon as he started spouting nonsense about monsuno. That was one of the reasons that he didn't say anything to his parents.

And it wasn't like there would be anything keeping Jack from doing that either. To Jack, Chase was just a random teenager running around claiming to know about monsuno just like Beyal was. Except there wasn't anything holding Jack back from following through with shipping him off to the loony bin. The man could easily label Chase as a insane fan and justify his actions.

Jack saw him hesitate, and let out another sigh.

"Obviously you learned nothing from what I told you. I suggest you turn back and forget that this ever happened," he said, not bothering to face the teen, "If I had the chance to change things... It'd be to stop while I was ahead. Don't bother trying to get back in, security will know not to let you inside."

The man shut the metal door, leaving Chase standing there in the back.

…..

Time must've gone by pretty fast, as it was now dark out, the single back light illuminating where he stood. A cold wind blew through, and Chase didn't bother to hold in his shudder. He stared at the metal door that separated him and the place that held the answers he was looking for. Just as quickly as it came, it had gone.

At least, that's what he thought for about two seconds.

"Jack! Let me back in!" he shouted, banging his fists on the door. Without hesitating, he started to search for another way in, briskly walking along the edge of the building. He knew the main entrances were out of the question, but that didn't mean there weren't other ways inside. He couldn't just give up now!

After going back and forth along the wall, he could see that there were a few open windows that he could potentially sneak into (that is if he was ten feet taller or had Babeon). Dismissing that, he decided to think about picking the lock to the door instead. Three minutes of shoving a wire in the lock proved to be too difficult (he should've gotten lessons from Dax).

With a sigh, he threw the piece of metal down and frowned deeply at the lock. He couldn't really think of anything else other then trying to force his way through. But, again, that would probably just lead to the cops showing up and him being brought back to his parents in a similar manner to the first day he arrived (and he wasn't exactly eager to see Trey again).

"… No. I have to get in there," Chase muttered under his breath. Droog mentioned how he needed something in this world. And if it had to do with monsuno, he needed to get inside!

He took a few steps away and started to eye the windows again when he heard a voice behind him.

"Chase!"

He froze, immediately recognizing it and inwardly panicking. He didn't exactly hold it in though as he saw his best friends running towards him. When his initial shock wore off and he found his voice again, he took a step backward.

"What're you two doing here?!" he shouted. As soon as they came close, he quickly remembered what happened with Jinja earlier and started to blush again. She must've seen his expression, as she quickly looked away with reddened cheeks. Chase found himself blushing even more at noticing how she was still wearing the same outfit from earlier, but now at least worse a denim jacket that covered her shoulders. Bren seemed a bit more clumsy with his appearance, with a hoodie and jeans thrown on and hair tussled.

"We came here to find you," Bren said, then held up some slips of paper. Chase recognized them as some of the tickets that Beyal had sent him, "Why didn't you tell us that you had tickets to see the Desert Wolves?"

Chase shook his head, still in shock. He blinked a few times, throat going dry as he struggled to bring up a last minute excuse. Eventually, he landed on the only question on his mind, "Bren. What are you _doing_ here? How did you even get those? How did you find me?"

"You're parents," Jinja said, then crossed her arms, "They've been worried about your-um. Behavior lately. We found tickets in your room after..."

Jinja trailed off, cheeks going red. Both Bren and Chase looked to the girl as she fidgeting a bit. Bren cleared his throat.

"Well. Jinja called me, and we both agreed to ask you what was wrong," he said, "So. What's wrong? You've been acting really weird lately. Your parents even said that you're out late all the time."

Chase tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. What was he supposed to do right now? If he told the two the truth, they'd probably tell his parents that he had gone crazy. And it was obvious that they weren't buying his 'normal' act (if one could even call it that).

"I.. uh..." he stammered, "I... There was someone I had to meet."

"Really? Who?" Bren said, rather oblivious. Chase paused, debating of whether or not to tell them. His eyes landed on the tickets in Bren's clenched fist.

Then he got an idea.

"… Do you want to meet them?" Chase said, leaning closer, "I mean. The show's almost over, but we can still go inside I'm pretty sure."

Chase held up the plastic card around his neck that still read 'VIP'. The two raised brows at him, Bren rather quick to grab it and look at it for authenticity. His lips quirked into a smile.

"Wow! I didn't know you were that loaded to get something like this!" he said, "Is this why you were acting weird all week?"

"Y-yeah!" Chase quickly said, taking it off and offering it to Bren, "But I need you to do me a favor before we can go inside."

"A favor?" Jinja asked with a raised brow. Chase was a little more hesitant on speaking to her at the moment, and inside tried to focus on Bren.

"I-uh. I lost my ticket, and need you to go back inside and open the door for me," Chase said, still holding the pass for Bren, "Just go backstage and go all the way down the hall until you get to the first fire exit. We'll be right here waiting."

Bren was a bit confused, hesitantly taking the pass. He looked at it briefly before looking back up to Chase. The raven-haired teen nodded to him, clasping his shoulder.

"I know you got this B."

"Hold on," Jinja protested, staring Chase straight in the eye, "Who were you here to see?"

"… What?"

"You said you were here to see someone. And I'm fairly sure that you didn't even want to see the Desert Wolves when we talked about it earlier this week," she said suspiciously, "And you just said you were here to meet someone. Who was it?"

Chase's lips twitched. Crag. Now what was he supposed to say. That he knew Beyal? Or Bekka? Even if they believed him, that was a bit outlandish given how the woman was a famous pop singer.

"I uh… Came to meet an old friend," he said, "Y-You should actually meet him! I'll introduce you guys as soon as we get inside."

He turned Bren towards the main entrance and started to walk him towards it, "Go ahead B! I'm sure you can do it!"

Without waiting for him to protest, Chase gave another shove before Bren started to walk away. He glanced to Jinja briefly before walking off.

….

Admittedly, Chase was a bit anxious about trusting this Bren with trying to get him back inside. There was no telling if he would even be able to do it. If he was anything like the Bren that he remembered, the teen would sooner get lost then find the exit to let Chase back inside.

Plus, now that he was alone with Jinja, he was even more anxious and uncomfortable. For the entire ten minutes that Bren had been gone, Chase opted to meticulously counting the metal tiles surrounding the fire exit, even taking note of the occasional cracks. Obviously she also was uncomfortable, not even moving from the spot she stood at.

After another (long) five minutes, she finally let out a sigh.

"Look. Chase," she said, looking to the ground, "I… If you don't feel something for me, I get it. Just… I get it."

Chase felt his stomach drop a bit, seeing her disheartened expression. Guilt was welling up, despite how he refused to feel that way about her.

"Uh. Hold on Jin," he said, "Uh. Look. It's not you. It's me."

She scoffed, then turned to the side, "Yeah. I've heard that before."

"No. Serously. It's _me,_ " he said, more serious, "I don't think you know what's going on right now but-"

"Of course I don't know! You've been keeping me and Bren in the dark!" she shouted, "It feels like… You're not even the same…"

Chase gulped, glad that there wasn't anyone around. She ran a hand through her long orange locks, letting out a sigh.

What was he supposed to say? That she was right? That he wasn't who she thought he was? A part of him felt pity for her, and wanted to explain and help her understand that he wasn't really the Chase that she knew. But a voice in the back of his head reminded him that he shouldn't care. This wasn't really the Jinja he knew after all. So there wasn't a point in even explaining it to her, or Bren, or even his parents.

That train of thought suddenly gave him an idea.

A shout got both of their attention. They turned towards the entrance, hearing another. It didn't sound like the shouts of fans, however. It sounded like panic.

"What's-"

The door swung open, and Bren was standing there with a worried look.

"Good timing B," Chase said, rushing past. He glanced around, trying to figure out which direction he should head in.

"Hold on Chase, something's going down right now," Bren said, waiting for Jinja to come inside. She still stood there, however, now watching Chase with a sullen expression.

"What do you mean?" Chase asked, still looking around. He was answered by some people running along one of the other hallways. He saw that they were security and quickly turned back to Bren, "Wait. Did you _do_ something to get inside?"

Bren frowned, "What? No. I'm not that insane. I just walked right through. I'm talking about the tall guy that rushed past security."

"What tall guy?" Jinja asked, still not budging.

"I dunno. I just heard some tall guy tried to get through to the backstage area," Bren explained, "Apparently he's causing a commotion on the far side of the concert hall."

"Then we have to hurry before security gets back here," Chase said quickly and started walking. If the other two didn't follow him, that didn't matter much. Because as long as he wasn't being looked for, Chase had the freedom to search for the white-haired teen that held the answers to his return.

Which meant that from this point on, he needed to take action.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and monsuno power for the reviews. Enjoy!

* * *

Chase was quick to go back to the backstage room that the VIP members were in, and it didn't take him long to get back to that very door. But when he reached for the handle, he remembered how problematic it would be if he went through just to run back into the old Desert Wolves. The second that any of them saw him, he'd be back on the street just as quickly as he had gotten back in (probably faster). He tapped his foot, biting his lip as he thought up a solution.

"Oh! Here's the VIP room," Bren said, coming up behind Chase with Jinja. He saw Chase's expression and shrugged, going for the handle, "What's wrong? The door locked?"

"W-Wait, Bren-"

Before the raven-haired teen could react, the other swung the door open and walked right in. Chase quickly moved to the side, pressing his back against the wall in a sad attempt to hide. Both Bren and Jinja looked at him with raised brows.

When nothing was said, Chase looked at them both before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I uh..." he stammered, "Didn't want to be seen by Bekka. She's uh... Really something!"

Jinja's frown got even deeper, and she folded her arms tightly. Chase gulped, deciding now was the best time to excuse himself inside.

As he crept through the door, he carefully surveyed the whole room. It looked like guests had yet to gather back inside except for the staff, who were busying themselves with their work. The large screen still displayed the show going on, and Chase breathed. At least he had some time left before someone found him.

There was a rush of footsteps behind them, and Chase pulled the other two inside before shutting the door behind him. For good measure, he ran over to the corner and hid behind a rather large plastic fern. The other two still stood there watching his actions with baffled expressions. He flashed them a panicked look that urged them to do the same.

The door opened again, and a head poked inside to glance around just as Bren and Jinja situated themselves. The man, Mr. Black, gave a look around the room before calling to the staff.

"Hey yo all of you," he said, "Get out here! We gots a situation to deals with!"

The staff, who were rather confused, followed the order and rushed out. Mr. Black shut the door again, the lock clicking. Chase let out a sigh of relief.

"Chase. What's going on?" Jinja asked, stepping out and watching the door before turning to the other, "Why did- Why did we need to hide? What's going on? Are we not supposed to be here?"

"Why wouldn't he? He's got a VIP pass," Bren said, flashing the piece of plastic for good measure. Chase moved out from behind the plant, striding to the door that he saw Beyal disappear behind. He tried the knob, finding it locked.

"Uh- Chase," Bren piped, "You can't go through there."

Chase turned to him, looking around the room to see if anyone was still around, "Why not?"

"It says private," Bren said, pointing at the word plastered right on the door. Chase frowned, still unable to read the language that was being used (why were there so many languages?).

"Like I said, got someone I need to meet," Chase said. He gave the room one last look around before kicking the door. It creaked, but didn't budge. He took a few steps back, and kicked again. This time the door broke free from its latch and slammed against the wall.

He slipped through into another hallway without hesitation. Jinja and Bren gave each other exasperated looks before following.

This hallway was much smaller then any of the previous ones. Six doors lined the walls, and Chase could take a guess that this was probably where each band member had their own spaces. He went up to the first, peeking inside to see a large dressing room with an assortment of guitars and outfits strewn across the furniture. The lights were dimmed, but he couldn't see anyone around.

"What are you _doing?!"_ Jinja hissed, shutting the door before Chase could get a longer look, "We shouldn't even be back here Chase."

"I have to agree with Jinja on this one Chase," Bren said, nervously looking around, "If security comes back, we could get in a lot of trouble! And I kinda have a date next week and _don't_ want to be grounded-"

Chase pushed both of them out of the way, opening the next door. The room was just like the last, but lacked anything that indicated that it was being used, including all the lights being off. He didn't bother going inside.

"Really? A date, Bren? That's what you're worried about?" Jinja asked with a raised brow, then shook her head, "But seriously Chase. Let's just go now and-"

He continued to ignore them, moving onto the next door. He looked in to see bright lights, wincing a bit. Holding a hand up, Chase did a quick sweep around to see this room empty as well, though there were a variety of sweets strewn around the room that made his stomach growl. He pushed those thoughts away and shut the door.

"Wait. That room had those chocolate covered deep fried cookies that I like!" Bren piped, opening the door and looking inside again. Jinja face-palmed, and grabbed the back of his hoodie.

"Now you're just being as bad as Chase!" she said, "You should at least be smart enough to know not to steal!"

"I'm sure they won't miss one or two," Bren whined, but didn't bother to physically move Jinja. Chase tried to ignore them, finding a headache starting to build between his temples, "Besides, I haven't eaten all day!"

"That's cause you were sleeping! I had to come wake you up at 3 in th afternoon!" Jinja argued shrilly.

"Hey! I can't help it that I have to work on projects for class that Chase has been slacking in! Uh. No offense, Chase."

Chase exhaled slowly, turning back to his best friends, "Can you guys just be quiet for two seconds!"

The two were silent, staring back at him with wide eyes. He blinked, then let his gaze and shoulders drop. For brief second he wanted to apologize, but he knew that there was no point. Besides, they weren't exactly being helpful. He tightened his fists, moving onto the next door without another word.

Just as he reached for the doorknob, it started to jingle.

Chase froze, his stomach dropping in fear.

Quickly, he grabbed the other two and surged into the empty dark room from before. He shut the door behind them, keeping it open just enough to peek through.

When the door opened, a tall man, Pozzo, stepped out without a word. He looked up and down the empty hallway, and slowly shut the door behind him. His eyes were trained on the door that Chase had broken through a few minutes prior, frowning at the sight. For good measure, he locked the door behind him, and went to examine the broken one.

"... Ouch! Bren that was my foot!" Jinja hissed.

"Sorry," Bren muttered, trying to look over Chase's shoulder. Chase watched apprehensively as Pozzo continued to look at the door.

"Chase what are-"

"Shh!"

The large man looked back at the door that he had just gone out of, and left the hallway. He made an effort to close the hall door, but it took a few jerks before it set back into place.

Chase let out a sigh, "That was a close one."

He stood up, going back into the hallway as he watched the door. He guessed that Pozzo was going to go tell Jack, which meant they didn't have much time. He waited a second more before walking out and going straight for the door that Pozzo came out of. He already knew the door would be locked, but it didn't hurt to try it.

Sure enough, it stuck fast.

"Crag," Chase cursed, and stood back to kick the door down like the previous. He let out a grunt as he took aim.

"Hold on!" Jinja said, stepping in the way. Chase caught himself with a gasp, nearly falling into her.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me," Jinja said, rolling her eyes, "You've been acting weird ever since Tuesday. There's something off about you, and it's about time you explain _everything_!"

"Um. Jinja," Bren piped, "Do you really think now's the best time to-"

"Stay out of this Bren!" she snapped, "Just what are you trying to do? If you wanted to meet the Desert Wolves that fine, just, why are you being so shady about it?"

Chase let out an exasperated sigh, running his hands through his hair.

"Jin. I would really _really_ love to play twenty questions with you right now. But we're currently standing backstage where security can throw us out any moment they find us," Chase said as calmly as he could, "And the answers I'm looking for are through the door. That door. Right there. So if you can just-"

"No," she said sternly, folding her arms, "You tell me and Bren what's going on or we wait for security to come back in here and you can answer us outside."

Chase was at a loss for words. He couldn't even believe his ears. Jinja was actually going to just let them get kicked out? After how much creeping and crawling they had to do to get here?

If that's how she wanted it, he wasn't going to back down.

"..."

(Of course, it'd help if Jinja couldn't break his kneecaps)

They stared at each other, neither of their gazes wavering.

What was he supposed to say? If he told them the truth, they'd think he was crazy. But it wasn't like his lies were holding up at this point either (and he couldn't come up with anything really clever either).

"Uh... Chase? Jinja?" Bren said, clearing his throat, "Am I missing something here?"

"You're not the only one," Jinja retorted, still glaring. Chase fidgeted, trying to figure out if he could force Jinja out of the way somehow. But it was clear that there was only one way to do it.

Chase sighed, finally done with this world. He stood up a little straighter, and looked at the two. He was well aware that they didn't have time to be talking, but it was now or never.

"I'm... Not Chase," he said, clenching his eyes shut. Nothing was said, so he peeked out to see the two giving him confused looks.

"What?"

"I'm not Chase... At least, not the one that you know," he corrected, trying to keep his gaze away from the door. Bren let out a laugh.

"Ha. That's a good one!" he said, then stopped when Chase didn't react, "... You're serious."

"I'm not from this world," Chase said, looking the two straight in the eye, "I'm from an alternate reality. Where my father Jeredy Suno invented core technology that uses monsuno essence to create animal hybrids called monsuno. I'm from the world of monsuno."

...

 _"Where did he go?"_

 _"Not sure. Droog? Hey!"_

 _"He's over there!"_

 _"Whipper, Sonic Blast!"_

 _"Woah! Watch where you're firing at next time princess! You almost hit Bioblaze!"_

 _"Well Sorry~. Can't help it if you're not fast enough-"_

 _"Neo-Quickforce, Chest Cannon!"_

 _"Mysticblade, Vapor Lock!"_

 _"Ah! Geez Beyal, you totally messed up our aim!"_

 _"I'm pretty sure your aim is always off Bren."_

 _"We could go without the commentary, Jinja!"_

 _"Deepsix! Use- where'd he go?'_

 _"... I think he's gone now."_

 _"No kidding monkfish. Statin' the obvious won't get us nowhere either."_

 _"Maybe if Bren wasn't standing around trying to text Tango-"_

 _"What does that have to do with this? If anything it was Dax's fault for-"_

 _"Guys! Calm down! We need to focus!"_

 _"..."_

 _"Alright. Now he couldn't have gotten far. For now, let's split up and search the area. I'll take the east. Jinja can take the west. Dax, the south. Beyal, the north. Bren. Stay here and monitor the energy until we get back. If something happens, alert us all."_

 _"Sure thing!"_

 _"Deepsix, return!"_

...

The stunned silence that came after his reveal was more then a little terrifying. It took all of Chase's patience to just wait for a reaction from either of his two friends. Bren, of course, was the first one to say something.

"... That's a good one," Bren laughed uneasily, obviously trying to kill the tension, "I think those late nights are getting to you."

Chase sighed loudly, throwing his hands in the air and ruffling his hair. He knew this would happen, given what they said when he saw them for the first time. It wasn't even worth trying to convince them given how different everything was here. But since they wouldn't help him otherwise (or at least leave him alone) he needed to at least say something now.

When he turned back around, he looked straight at Jinja. She backed away with a step, probably still feeling weird about the afternoon. But Chase was persistent.

"Jin. No, Jinja," he said, "You know I'm telling the truth. You know I'm not the Chase that you've come to... To like."

Chase's cheeks reddened a bit at the last comment, and felt himself holding his breath. He was hoping that she would believe him. If not, then he'd have to try and convince her some other way to let him by.

As it turned out, he didn't need another option.

She stared at him, her expression turned to understanding when they locked eyes, almost wistful.

"... He's right."

"What?"

"He's right Bren," she said, then dropped her gaze, "He's not Chase."

Chase sighed, feeling some of the tension in his shoulders wind away.

"Alright... I'll bite," Bren said, looking between the two like they were pulling a joke and would turn on him as soon as he bought their act, "So... If you're not Chase, what're you doing here?"

"I don't know," Chase admitted, "But if you let me through, into that room, then we can all find out why."

He looked to Jinja again, "Please. That's all I'm asking for is just a few minutes inside. Then we can leave. You don't have to go in either. You two can go wait outside for me if you're worried about security."

Jinja's shoulders sank, and she sighed as she stepped aside, moving back towards Bren.

"We'll let you through. But we're going in with you," she said, crossing her arms.

"We are?- Ow!" Bren whined as Jinja punched his arm.

Chase nodded to her, and pulled back to kick the door down.

...

As it turned out, kicking doors was something that Chase was finding himself getting fond of, if only because the results were immediate (and relieved some of the stress he had been harboring.)

Like the last door, it took him a few times to actually get it open. But as soon as it swung free, he pushed it out of the way and stormed inside, Bren and Jinja hot on his heels.

He looked around the room, seeing an assortment of letters and gift baskets lining the floor and desk. He checked the first one. Yep. This was Bekka's room.

"Beyal? Are you in here?" He called out. There was a couch in the corner, along with the vanity covered with even more letters and makeup. But no sign of the white-haired teen.

Chase walked to the wardrobe, opening it to an array of clothes. But again, no Beyal.

"Where the heck is he," Chase muttered. The lights were off, but even with the soft lamps blazing, it was clear no one was there. He bit his lip. Beyal had to be in here. Otherwise there was no reason for Pozzo to be in here-

"... Alprazolam. Triazolam. Prazosin."

Chase turned around at Bren's voice. He was standing by the vanity, holding a few medicine bottles up. Jinja made an exhaustive sound, marching to the other teen and whipped one out of his hands.

"What did I say about touching things?" She snapped, then looked down at the bottle in her hand. She raised a brow, "Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Huh."

"Yeah. Who knew Bekka suffered from PTSD?" Bren shrugged. Chase let out a small gasp.

"It's not hers. It's Beyal's," he said, taking the bottle from Jinja's hand. He remembered the story that Jack told him, grip tightening on the plastic container as he read the small description.

"Who's that?" Bren asked.

"The only person who can help me get out of here back to my world," Chase sighed, shaking the bottle lightly, "I think you'll like him. When we find him."

"No. Who's _that_?"

Chase turned around to see Bren pointing at the doorway back into the hall. He felt his breath hitch when he saw the tall silhouette against the hallway light.

"Droog!"

* * *

A/N: Review review review!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever and monsuno power for the reviews. So sorry that this hasn't been updated in a long time! I was so focused on finishing Relapse that this was put on the back burner.

Enjoy!

* * *

To say that he was surprised by the entirety of the whole day was an understatement.

First, one of his best friends confessed feelings towards him, which gave him a rude awakening of how different this world was. Then he had a heartfelt conversation with One-Eyed Jack. And now he was face to face with the top suspect of how he got there.

"Droog!" Chase exclaimed, turning to the man. Droog looked just the same as always, but there was also something wrong with him. Something different in the way that he stood.

"Um... Who?" Bren asked looking back and forth between the two, obviously still confused.

"Chase Suno," Droog said, "Why is it that you're always where I need to be?"

Chase shrugged, still staring down the other, "Coincidence I suppose. What are you here for? Anything having to do with monsuno has your name written all over it."

If Droog was here, that meant Chase was on the right track of getting home. Both Bren and Jinja were looking between the two, not sure what to think. Droog, on the other hand, was looking around the room with slow moving eyes.

"So? Where is he?" He finally asked.

"Who?"

Suddenly, Droog was in front of the teen. Bren and Jinja jumped at how fast the tall man was able to surge forward.

"The only one who knows about the monsuno here," Droog said monotonously, "You said it yourself. The only other person in this world who knows about monsuno. The monk, Beyal..."

He turned around, eyeing the other two teens when Bren let out a small squeak. Both he and Jinja squirmed under the tall man's gaze.

"Although I suppose that's probably not the same here," he said, then turned back to Chase, "Now. Tell me where he is so we can leave already."

"L-leave? What do you mean?" Chase gasped.

"I should think it obvious Chase Suno," Droog continued, leaning down, "We need to leave this world. We don't belong here."

Before Chase could react, Droog grabbed a hold of his jacket and suddenly the whole world around them started spinning. He heard Jinja and Bren shouting which almost immediately faded away. Everything in his vision blurred green, and for a brief second, he couldn't help but recognize the feeling for some reason.

As everything came back into view, Droog let go and Chase fell to his knees with a gasp.

"Wh-What was that?" He panted, trying to look around. He saw the night sky, as well as the city all around. Somehow, Droog got them on the roof of one of the city skyscrapers, the cars and people below making echoes into the night.

Chase slowly got to his feet, ready to make a run for it. He glanced around, and saw where the stairwell was. He just hoped that it wasn't locked.

"Don't bother trying to run, the door over there is shut tight," Droog said, as if he already knew what Chase was thinking. He turned to the teen with a serious look, "Are you so anxious to get back to your fake friends that you're willing to run away from what I have to offer?"

Chase hesitated. On one hand, Droog was one of the last people he wanted to be near right now. But at the same time, Droog was the only person he could trust on getting him home, even if it was only a little amount.

He turned back around to face the strange man, "Alright. You got ten minutes to explain everything. And don't try to confuse me with wordplay. I want answers."

Droog watched the teen, then turned towards the view. He crossed his arms behind himself in thought.

"... you would have to agree that this world is beautiful," he said, not bothering to turn around, "So reminiscent of the real world. Though I suppose that's just because we came from it. It's almost like a dream..."

Chase walked up to the man, staying a step behind, "You didn't answer me. Where is this place? What is it?"

"A world without discord," Droog said, looking more up towards the sky, "A world without the need for monsuno. There are still traces of it, but it no longer holds the same power that it did. We are safe, for the most part."

There was a helicopter in the distance that was flying towards them. It flew high overhead, and faded towards the horizon. It reminded Chase of the S.T.O.R.M. cloud hoppers, but he tossed that thought aside.

"So then... What does monsuno mean here?" Chase asked, if it doesn't have the same power that it did, what is it?"

"Here, monsuno essence is more at its primal stage," Droog explained, "It isn't at its destructive stage that threatens to tear apart the planet. At least, not yet."

He gazed down at his hand.

"The monsuno essence that could destroy everything. That _has_ destroyed everything... We can figure out how to stop it here and now."

He turned to Chase.

"And that is why we are here. We need to save this world from the monsuno essence."

"Why can't you just take us back? You seem to be able to teleport anywhere, so why can't we go that way?" Chase asked, still suspicious.

"Because where we are now and where we were are on two separate planes of existence," the tall man replied, "Even if I could manage to get us out of here, there's no guarantee we'll get back _there_."

Droog walked closer to the edge of the building, eyes trained on the horizon, "That's why our only option right now is to use the monsuno essence to get back. But to do that we need to contain it all. We need to find a way to extract it before it can do damage."

Chase thought for a moment. It was only after a few seconds that he realized what Droog was implying.

"So you need me," Chase said, lips quirking, "You need to know how my dad created the fail safe. And to figure out how to make the containment grid."

Of course, it would help if Chase actually knew how to do that. But he wasn't about to tell Droog that. Still, that was an extreme that he would rather not take, alternate world or not. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Well. I'm not about to help you, considering everything that you've done in the past-"

Droog was in front of Chase again. He gasped, stumbling back as the tall man loomed over with a dark expression.

"You mistook what I said," Droog hissed, "You may be valuable, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're needed in one piece. Haven't you even noticed where we are?"

To enunciate his point, Droog waved his hand out towards the horizon. Chase looked around, not sure what he meant. He shook his head.

"If you're trying to say that you wanna throw me off the building, I'm pretty sure that would kill me," he said, taking a step back for good measure. Droog let out of huff.

"Figures you would be that dull. But I was showing you that this place that we're at currently isn't the same city that we were in," he said, "In fact, we're not even on the same continent."

Chase looked around, realizing for the first time that he could read the signs. An empty feeling in his chest made him go numb. Moreso because of the change in composure Droog had.

"I can destroy you at any moment," Droog stated, "I can make sure you disappear from the face of this planet without so much as a snap of my fingers. And the only reason you're going to be able to walk away from this little meeting is because you're a lot more useful to me with everything intact. Especially since you will probably be able to find out where the monsuno essence is faster than I can."

He took a step backwards, not breaking eye contact with Chase as he did.

"I'll be in touch."

Before Chase could respond, the whole world was spinning again until he was shoved back onto his feet in the middle of a street. He quickly looked around. Droog was gone.

HLP

It was night, the street lights and bustling crowds being the things keeping him company. Chase was disoriented, unsure of where Droog had put him. Was this the same city? Or the one he had first been in? Didn't that mean he would have to get back home on his own, or was he supposed to start looking for a sign of monsuno?

Luckily, he didn't have to contemplate it for long.

"Chase!"

He jerked, and turned around to see Bren and Jinja running towards him from the crowd.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Jinja asked.

"Yeah. Where did that weird guy go?" Bren panted out, then bent over as he tried to catch his breath. Jinja rolled her eyes.

"I'm not sure. But I'm okay," Chase said. Now that he was face to face with the two, his thoughts lingered on Droog's words. The man was somewhat right about them being fake, but stil... Simply dismissing them as such was a bit harsh. Jinja saw his expression, but didn't say anything.

Bren, breath finally caught, looked up at Chase with a raised brow, "Are you sure? Cause you just vanished in the middle of the room. You have to admit that wasn't normal."

"Seriously Chase. Who was that guy?" Jinja asked.

"Well. Honestly I'm not sure who he really is, but his name is Droog and he comes from the same place where I'm from," Chase said, scratching the back of his neck. Both Jinja and Bren's expressions turned bitter, most likely remembering what Chase had revealed to them just moments ago. He scratched his neck again awkwardly.

"So what did he want?" Bren asked, fidgeting a bit.

"He wants to get back too. He said that there is monsuno essence somewhere in this world, and that if we find it then the two of us can get back," Chase explained.

"Hold it!" Jinja protested, "What makes you think that he will do that? He doesn't exactly seem trustworthy considering he whisked you away in a weird green flash."

"I know. But he's the only one who knows what's going on," Chase said, "I can't remember how I even got here. And he's the only one who I can trust-"

He stopped, seeing the hurt looks on both of their faces. Why does he keep doing that? He cringed and looked away.

None of them said anything after that. The crowds of people around them continued to walk by, chattering. But even then, Chase felt the silence between the three of them become overwhelming.

Eventually, Bren was the first to speak.

"Well. You can trust us to find that guy you were looking for in the concert," he said. Chase let out a gasp.

"What did you say?"

"That kid. Um. The one with white hair?" Jinja said, brows furrowing in thought, "We ran into him after we got kicked out of the backstage area. Really good idea you had there."

Chase felt his heart lifting immediately. Looks like he was about to start figuring out how to get home.

"Take me to him."

HLP

Following Jinja and Bren, Chase walked with both excitement and anxiety. So much had just happened within the half hour that he was left with doubts and guilt.

He kept looking at the two, knowing that he should've been more mindful of what he said. Droog already mentioned how they weren't exactly real, but even with that and what went on the past week, Chase couldn't just dismiss them entirely.

And yet, he needed to get back. For all he knew, something terrible happened to his team, or was happening to them right now. And while he wasn't too willing to do Droog's dirty work, what choice did he have? All he managed to do this week was go to school, see how his would-be team was coping, and mess with Charlemagne. Not exactly productive.

Bren cleared his throat. Chase looked up, seeing that he was led to a small cafe. There was quite the amount of people inside who were lined up. Bren and Jinja walked right inside. Chase hesitated, but followed.

He looked around, the smell of coffee thick in the air. They must've been there during the rush, as the barista shouted orders out and shoved drinks and food over the counter in an instant. Chase heard a microphone squeak, and saw a small jazz band preparing to play.

"Over here," Bren said. Chase followed, and let out a small gasp when he saw Beyal sitting at one of the tables in the corner. He was tapping away at his phone, and only looked up when they were a foot away.

"Huh. You found him," Beyal said. Chase ran forward, taking the others shoulders. He felt the urge to just embrace the other from sheer relief, but Beyal quickly removed his hands with a look of revulsion.

"I-I am. So happy to see you," Chase said, holding his hands up a little. He quickly remembered Jinja and Bren, who had just as baffled looks as before when they first saw Droog. Chase cleared his throat awkwardly, taking a seat.

"Uh. So," he started, fiddling his thumbs together, "We have a lot to talk about..."

When he trailed off he realized that none of them were paying complete attention to him. Bren was fidgeting just as much in his seat as Chase was, though he was staring at the band that started to play. Jinja was quick to excuse herself, muttering under her breath about getting drinks. And Beyal continued to type away on his phone. Despite having most of their group back together, it was anything but. He let out a sigh.

"I'm listening," Beyal said, still not looking up, "You need a way back home right? And it has to do with monsuno."

"Y-Yeah. The guy who's also from my world said that we need to find it to get back, but he didn't really explain how," Chase said, "Uh... Are you feeling okay? After what happened back in the concert? And how did Bren and Jinja of all people find you?"

Beyal looked up. He had an annoyed look, and let out a sigh.

"Its not really hard to get away from Bekka's security," he said, "There was a back entrance that I had already scoped out. After the commotion you started, it was pretty easy to sneak by. Of course, I ended up bumping into your friends after they were thrown out and kept shouting your name like a bunch of lunatics."

"Yeah. You never explained that," Bren said, turning to the raven haired teen "How was that guy able to teleport you away? Is this more about how you're from a different planet?"

"World Bren, a different world," Chase sighed, then turned back to Beyal, "Okay. Well. Are you alright to talk about monsuno? I don't want to make a scene here. We can leave-"

"I'll be fine," the white haired teen quickly dismissed. He looked towards the exit, then to where Jinja was standing in line. Chase stared back as well, hoping that she could hurry so they could continue with the conversation. With how much they would be explaining what monsuno was, he didn't want to have to repeat things over (he was really getting tired of that)

"Oh oh! Can I ask a question?" Bren joined in.

"That... Was a question, but go ahead," Beyal said.

"Not from you though. From Chase," Bren corrected. Chase raised a brow.

"Uh. Okay."

"Well. Jinja said that you're a different Chase. And you said you were a different Chase too," Bren started, and Chase immediately flinched.

"Y-yeah. Kinda learned that the hard way," he groaned, remembering her attempted kiss. Bren raised a brow.

"Okay. Um. Not sure what you two were up to today," He said, looking over towards Jinja's direction then turning back, "Well… Then if you're here, where's _our_ Chase?"

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and the guest for the reviews! I know it's been awhile since I've updated in general, but I've wanted to update this fic before any of the others. Which was easier said then done, since I was writing this back when writing Relapse, and that got finished awhile ago so...

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 _"Did any of you guys find something?"_

 _"Nothin'. The place seems deserted. Not even any signs of Klipse or Tallis' goons."_

 _"I'm afraid I haven't seen anything either. Not even any traces of monsuno... What about you Bren?"_

 _"Huh? Oh! No. There's no one around. And Droog must've taken off already cause he's vanished."_

 _'"... Hold on. Where's little suno?"_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"..._

 _"Uh oh. That can't be good."_

 _'"We gotta find him! Knowing him he probably found Droog and is fighting as we speak!"_

 _"He better not! I've been itching for a fight all day!"_

 _"..."_

 _"... Hm? Beyal? Is something wrong?"_

 _"I ... I don't..."_

 _"Beyal!"_

 _"Catch him Bren!"_

 _"Ack! I got him-"_

 _"..."_

 _"Beyal? Are you alright?"_

 _"... I... There is a rift that is opening... A divulging pathway that can lead anew..."_

 _"What's he going on about?"_

 _"Not sure-AH!"_

 _"W-What?! Why is the ground shaking?"_

 _"Oh no! It's the universe out to get me!"_

 _"Please, Bren. We don't need that now!"_

 _"..."_

 _"It stopped."_

 _"... Well. Whatever that was we can deal with later. Right now we gotta find Chase."_

 _"Over there! What's that?"_

 _"Huh? It looks like-_

HLP

It was silent in the cafe, excluding the jazz band that started to play. Jinja came walking back with a few mugs. Even as she passed them out, Chase continued to stare at Bren as his mind went horribly blank. Bren shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

"... What is it?" he asked, taking one of the mugs Jinja set down. Chase looked to each of them, a cold and empty feeling going through his body. Slowly he rose to his feet.

 _Another_ _Chase_.

How? How could he have let that question slip from his mind? Why didn't he bother to question where his own counterpart in this world was when there clearly was one? The feeling in his legs started to go numb. His eyes darted around the room, finding that it was suddenly getting too small and too hot all at once.

"Chase. What-"

He bolted out of the cafe, nearly shoving a waitress into a table as he rushed through the doors into the street. As soon as he felt the cool air against his face, Chase tried to take a breath. But for some reason, his lungs didn't seem to be working right.

Another Chase. Why was he that thick to forget? Such a simple detail that really should've been the first thing that he questioned.

Did that mean he was in Chase's world? With his monsuno? _For a whole_ _week_?

His hands flew forward, grasping the nearby street post. He griped his chest, trying to calm himself down enough to take a breath before he passed out. But all he could think about was how his alternate was running around with some of the most dangerous monsuno in the world.

Chase gasped even more, realization making his vision spin. If he really was brought here by someone else, his monsuno- Locke might be in someone else's hands!

"No. No no no. How can- This whole thing is a mess!"

He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying not to think of all the possibilities of who could be using Locke at this very moment. Or even the thought of someone going after his father or his friends or, daresay, his mom.

Footsteps came behind him, a hand landing on his shoulder. He stiffened at the touch, quickly glancing up to see Bren staring at him. There was a somewhat worried look on his face, though he tried not to show it. Chase steadied himself against the steel pole

"I'm... Fine," he murmured, batting Bren's hand away, "I just... I just needed some air."

He shook his head quickly, forcing a smile as best he could, "Let's go back inside-"

Bren held a hand out, making Chase pause for a second. A serious expression was on Bren's face when he lowered it.

"... I get that you can't trust us," he said, tone shifting from its usual chipper voice, "I get that this is... Unorthodox. But you can't just act out like that."

Chase frowned, eyes falling to the ground in frustration. He bit his lip, trying hard not to scream out.

But at this point, he was completely fed up with everything.

"Why the krag shouldn't I?" Chase hissed through his teeth, "This whole thing. No one knows why it happened. I'm out here running after shadows and now someone is running around with my monsuno! A random person has Locke, and my friends are in trouble! My parents- Everyone I truly care about are in danger with some clueless alternate me is probably wandering aimlessly around-"

Bren took a single step forward before slapping him.

Chase's head snapped to the side, completely shocked. The sounds of the street around them seemed to deafen. The heavy beating in his heart suddenly started to subside as a warmth spread against his cheek..

"I don't care who you are." Bren said, "I don't care what these monsuno are. But you don't have the right to start making assumptions about my best friend. And you definitely don't have the right to talk bad about him!"

Chase slowly looked forward again, the sting to his face still throbbing. Bren, who had probably been glaring up to this point, suddenly found himself shifting on his feet uncomfortably.

"I... I mean. This whole time all you've done is run away from us... You didn't even bother telling us about this... Whatever it is for a whole week. What made you think that it was fair to keep it from Jinja or your parents? Do you know how worried she has been this whole time? Cause believe me it is not easy to reassure Jinja when she's fired up and bothered."

The raven-haired teen blinked a few times, realization dawning on him, "Wait. You knew?"

Bren let out a sigh, nodding.

"It was kinda obvious to be honest," he admitted, "Especially considering you never logged online for the game me and Chase play. Well. The other Chase I suppose... Plus it was hard to ignore when Jinja started wondering about why you weren't reacting to her anymore."

Chase's shoulder sank, guilt slowly replacing the panic in his chest. He slumped down to his knees, hardly caring about the looks he got from people passing the two of them. Bren watched him for a moment before clearing his throat.

"How long since you've had any sleep?"

"... What?"

"How long since you got sleep?" Bren repeated. Chase blinked a few times, not quite processing what Bren was asking.

"I... Not since I got here. I think," Chase muttered. He looked up at the sky, staring at some of the stars dotting the sky. He still felt his hands twitching from adrenaline, but that was quickly fading away, "I've been so worried about things that I've just been... Running around."

When he said it out loud, his last few days suddenly seemed really wasted. Especially if his rouse was so easy to see through. A part of him started wondering about his parents here and if they were just as observant (now he felt even more guilty for just leaving the whole night without saying a word to them). But based on what Bren said, that was probably not the case.

Bren held a hand out, this time for him to take. There was the slightest bit of hesitance in his eyes, but he forced it away, instead motioning for Chase to take it.

"... C'mon. We need to get you home."

HLP

When the two of them walked back into the cafe. The jazz band was now moving into a slower tune, the line at the counter now substantially shorter. Chase flexed his hands a few times when he and Bren trailed back to their table. The raven-haired teen was a little surprised to see Jinja and Beyal speaking to each other (or rather, Jinja speaking and Beyal on his phone). The pair looked up when they approached.

"... What was that about?" Jinja asked with a raised brow. Bren shrugged at her.

"Just needed some air is all. It's a little dank in here," he said, grabbing his mug and chugging most of it down. Chase bit the inside of his cheek, a bit in awe at how fast Bren was able to switch his own persona from serious to cheerful in a matter of seconds.

"So nothing too serious then?" Beyal asked, pausing briefly to look at the two. Chase's lips furrowed, and he held his face in his hands as he let out a sigh.

"No. Not compared to what the other Chase is probably feeling," he said, then let his face fall to the table to lay down on it, "I can't believe I let it slip from my mind. Sorry that I forgot..."

Jinja thought for a moment, swishing her mug a little"... I hope he's alright. I wonder how he's dealing with our alternates."

"I imagine better then this Chase," Beyal said, tapping at his phone as he sipped his drink. He grimaced at it, pushing it away.

"No," Chase muttered, slumping on the table a burying his face into his elbows, "This is _so_ bad."

Beyal looked up from his phone with a somewhat annoyed look, "Why are you freaking out? From what you told me about your world he should be fine."

"What? You told him about yourself but not us?" Bren said, pointing at the white-haired teen, then slumped back in his seat with his arms folded. Chase's lip twitched. Seemed like this Bren was just as jealous as the other.

"Bren. You don't exactly have the ability to pop in and out of other worlds," Jinja said with a sly look, "Especially with that chess match of yours."

"Hey! I had that match! I was just a little distracted is all-"

Chase ignored them, running multiple situations through his head as he tried to think about what his counterpart could have possibly been doing for a week. But since he couldn't even remember how he got there in the first place, there was no telling what happened. Even the small conversations he had with Droog revealed nothing about what could've happened.

Were his friends with the other Chase? Did they know? Or was he wandering aimlessly through the world? Hopefully S.T.O.R.M. was able to find him. Then at least his team and his parents would be able to try and figure something out.

"..."

But if that were the case, then why hadn't they come for him? If there was someone out there that caused this, then perhaps they had gotten to the other Chase then.

And with the amount of enemies he had, Chase had a feeling that was most likely the case. He clenched his fists.

This revealed one thing: that he needed to get back. Now!

He leaned back up, trying to steel his nerves.

"This doesn't change anything," he said, more to himself. He looked to Beyal, "Where can we find monsuno essence? That's the best bet on how I'm going to get back home."

Beyal paused, eyes flickering over to the other teen. He leaned forward, lowering his phone somewhat.

"If it exists here. Somewhere. Are you sure that's how you'll be able to get home?" he asked, "Because, quite frankly, if we try to go looking for a nonexistent power and waste tons of time on false leads, what makes you think that we're going to go along with whatever plan you have?"

Chase raised a brow, "Huh?"

"Well. I'll follow along. It's better then staying with _her_ ," Beyal said, tapping his fingers against the table irritably, "But what about these two? And I doubt you can just go wandering around with your parents probably wondering where you are."

The two glanced over to Bren and Jinja, who had grown quiet. They both started to fidget in their seats at the stares. Chase never even thought of asking if the two of them really wanted to help him this way. They probably thought that this would only by a few hours at most (but it's not like he was able to guess what they were thinking in the first place, especially after what happened with Bren just minutes ago).

The others two teens had a silent exchange between them (Something that the real Jinja and Bren would probably never do).

"Well. If it means getting our Chase back. Then I'm all for it," Jinja said resolutely. Bren nodded with her, already feeling set on helping.

Beyal looked at the two, then to Chase. His gaze was unreadable, though it did hold honesty. He looked back down at his phone, typing quickly.

"Rumor was that there were stones mined in this area that had an unnatural green glow to them," Beyal explained, "That was the only reason I wanted to explore around here. Where they're mined is a good place where we could start looking."

He brought his phone up, showing a location to the other three. Bren adjusted his glasses.

"Oh! I know where that is!" he exclaimed, "That's near my family's mine. Well, at least where my family works. We can get in there no problem!"

Jinja leaned closer, narrowing her eyes at the screen, "You sure Bren? It's like 11 at night. Or it will be when we get there."

"I'll just text my grandpa. He'll give me the codes," Bren shrugged. The table suddenly jerked, making their cups rattle. Chase looked to his right, seeing Beyal disappear.

"Wha-" he stammered, then felt his leg bump against something. He ducked under, surprised to see Beyal now huddled under with a nervous expression.

There was chattering in the room. He felt Bren tug his sleeve. Chase looked up, and saw two rather familiar men in suits talking to the barista. He flinched and ducked under too.

"Chase what are-"

"Don't move you two!" Chase hissed, trying to stay out of view before turning to Beyal, "Why are they here? I thought you said you got the guards to leave Bren and Jinja alone?"

The white-haired teen fumbled with his phone, not bothering to look up, "I... May or may not have snuck out without telling Bekka."

Chase cringed, then glanced out from under the table, he jerked back when he saw the barista point in their direction.

"Your people skills are just as bad as they were before," Chase sighed, then shook his head. Both Bren and Jinja glanced under table.

"Well? What's the plan?" Jinja asked.

"Let's go through the back," Chase suggested, "We'll rush out when-"

The room suddenly started to shake. The plates and glasses rattled against the wood. Without warning, the ground below quaked horribly, knocking over unoccupied chairs and the few people standing. Bren let out a small squeak as he and Jinja gripped onto the table.

"What-Another earthquake!" he shouted. As the shaking started to subside, Chase glanced towards the entrance.

"There, now's our chance!" he said, charging for the door. He heard the two bodyguards from the concert shouting just as they got to the door, but he was quick to ignore it. The four of them stumbled along as the shaking subsided. By the time it had stopped, they were well down the street.

That didn't stop Chase from running.

It was only when his lungs were burning did he decide to slow. When he stopped, Chase turned to the other three, surprised to see that they kept up with him.

"Wow," he panted, "Good to know you guys can still book it when we need to."

Jinja shot him a look. Bren glanced at both of them before clearing his throat.

"Uh... Not really? You weren't going that fast really," he said, "Kinda slow to be honest."

Chase blinked a few times, his shoulders sinking. That couldn't be right. It felt like they had just run straight through the jungle being hunted by S.T.O.R.M. He felt completely exhausted. And yet...

"You sure you've done this before? 'Cause our Chase can run laps like nothing- Ow! Jinja!"

Jinja elbowed Bren, then turned to Chase, "Ignore him. The important thing is that we're out of there. Right?"

Chase nodded, trying to steady his breath as he wiped his brow. He looked at the two, then stared behind them as Beyal waved down a car. The sign on the top made Chase realize he was getting them a cab. He didn't even wait for them as he crawled inside. The cab honked its horn.

"Hurry up or I'll leave you!" Beyal called out from the window. Bren ran over immediately. Chase took a breath, slowly taking a step.

But for some reason, that one step seemed too slow.

Then everything started slowing.

Jinja turned to him, her mouth wording something at him. She walked towards Chase, yet seemed to be getting further away.

Spots flashed in his vision.

And as he heard Jinja and Bren shouting for him, he could've sworn he heard another voice calling out just as he blacked out.

* * *

A/N: This is short. But it's mostly because the next chapter got so long that I wanted to space it out somewhat. Review review review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: At this point just wanted to update again since this chapter was pretty much done by this point and this fic needs to be updated/finished by this point.(And because I probably just need to focus on one fic at a time to finish any of them.)

Enjoy!

* * *

He was moving. Or at least he felt like he was moving.

His body felt heavy, barely registering the fact that he wasn't asleep. There was something shaking under him. Slowly, he eased his eyes open to see darkness, and faint light in front of him.

"... Huh?" Chase stammered, looking around the small confinement. Both Jinja and Bren were to his sides as he sat in the middle. He could see the headlights of the cab shining on the dark road ahead, Beyal now sitting on the passenger's seat. Jinja was the first one to notice he regained consciousness.

"You feeling better?" Jinja asked softly.

Chase leaned back, sinking into the faux leather seat. The throbbing in his head was still somewhat present, though it had subsided tremendously. He also felt a lot more alert. He realized that his small fainting spell must've been caused by fatigue, if anything.

"Y-yeah," he said, "A lot actually."

He glanced at Bren, who had a knowing look on his face. Chase quickly shook his head, "Yeah. Don't worry about it."

"Believe me. We weren't," Beyal commented, gazing out the window bored.

Chase let out a sigh, closing his eyes again as he focused on the small bumps and turns the car made. The urge to fall back asleep was strong. He knew better then to fall back asleep, but it felt so much easier now for some reason.

After a few seconds (or what felt like a few seconds), Jinja was nudging his shoulder.

"Chase. We're here."

He blinked a few times, his body jerking a little as he climbed out of the cab without fully realizing he was. He stumbled a few steps before Bren helped steady him.

"... You sure you want to do this?" Beyal asked as he stood by the door of the cab, leaning over the top, "Cause we can turn back now."

Chase shook his head, standing a bit taller, "No. We're already here. We might as well go through with it."

Beyal stared for a moment before handing over some money to the driver. The four of them watched as the cab turned around and drove back down the dark road. Chase took a breath before looking around.

The area certainly looked reminiscent of where Bren's family lived, though there was something different about the air that he couldn't quite place. Still, they were close to finally getting some answers (hopefully). He saw a pathway that led further into the nearby woods.

"It's just ahead," Beyal said, looking down at his phone (an action that Chase was still not quite used to).

"I could've told you that," Bren huffed, then led the way, "Grandpa said that the gate should be locked, but there's a key in the gray box on the lock."

"That makes it easier. Though I'm pretty sure we could hop the fence if needed," Chase said. Jinja shot him a look. He blinked innocently, then flushed horribly when he remembered she was wearing a skirt (also something he wasn't used to).

After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a tall, chain link fence surrounding a small mining quarry. When they got to the gate, however, Bren frowned.

"...What's wrong?"

Bren swung the gate open with ease. They were silent when he glanced back at them.

"It was already unlocked," he said, then looked to the ground. He picked up a broken chain, "Looks like someone's already here."

A chill went through the air. Chase shuddered. His first thought was that maybe Droog had shown up. But the man had proven many times that he didn't need to necessarily break into somewhere, especially if he could warp the way that he did.

"That's certainly suspicious, but we might as well look around," Chase said, stepping through into the quarry. The other three followed him, glancing around at the machines and boulders that laid about innocently. Soon, the group ended up at the entrance to the mines.

"Well. This is it," Bren said simply, "There's an elevator shaft up ahead that we can use. Except..."

"What is it Bren?" Jinja asked. The teen shook his head.

"No. It's nothing. Just a little paranoid I guess-"

A clatter echoed through the cave. They all halted. Chase quickly turned to look down the tunnel. Shadows darted along the walls as he squinted to see.

"Ugh. Can't see," he said, taking a few steps, "Does anyone have a light?"

Both Jinja and Bren shook their heads. Chase quirked a smile, realizing that they hadn't brought anything with them. It reminded him of when they went searching for his father and decided to bring everything they could with them (though after a few days they decide to travel even lighter).

A light flashed. Chase flinched, and saw Beyal holding his phone up. He gave a simple thumbs up at the small white light shining around them.

"Uh. Alright," Chase stammered, then shook his head, "Stay close together. If there's something here, then we might not be alone."

The three nodded, and he took the lead. They walked silently through the tunnels. Chase wasn't sure what they were looking for really. He didn't even know where to start, considering he didn't even go with Bren the last time they went to visit his family.

(But it wasn't like he was going to skip out on Bren's mom's home cooking)

As they got further in, they could hear voices somewhere ahead, along with laughing. Chase was on alert immediately. But as they got closer, he realized that whoever it was didn't seem to be threatening. If anything, it sounded like a normal conversation. There was a crunch under his foot, and he glanced down to see something metallic. Picking it up, he realized it was a candy wrapper.

And then he heard a familiar voice.

"Oi! Pass over some more pop!"

Chase gasped. It couldn't be...

"No can do. Not til you hand over those chips. Jeez man. We need to start bringing real food. Or at least try to sneak some stuff out of the cafeteria."

Chase immediately charged forward and ran around the corner where he saw faint light coming from.

In front of him were two teens, one of them standing as the other sat on a small cooler, a single lantern illuminating the small area. All three of them froze.

"Chase? What is it?" Jinja called out, running up to his side. She paused as soon as she saw the other two. Bren and Beyal trailed behind, not as surprised, but still on edge. The teen sitting on the cooler stood up, frowning as he stepped towards them.

"Who're you bunch? Looking for some trouble?" he sneered. Chase held his hands up immediately.

"No no! Of course not," he said, eyes flicking to the other, "Uh... Hey there Dax."

Now that they weren't in school, the lowlander certainly looked more like how Chase remembered, wearing a baseball cap, jeans, and a t-shirt. Dax squinted in the dim lighting, snapping his fingers when he recognized Chase.

"Wait a sec. You're the guy from Core Tech Academy," he said, "What're you doin' here? Looking to be best buds or something?"

"You know this lot Dax?" the other teen with fluffy hair asked, eyeing the group suspiciously.

"Kinda. Met them at the chess match," Dax frowned, then turned back to them, "Sorry to break to ya, but this is our hangout spot. Get lost."

Chase rolled his eyes. As much as he distrusted Dax when first meeting him in the lowlands, there was something earnest about his actions that spoke about his character(if only because he was helping Chase's father). This Dax was more forward (and a lot more arrogant for sure), but his threats could hardly be called that. Before Chase could say something, Bren marched up to the other teen.

"Your hangout spot happens to be _my_ family's mine!" Bren said. Dax raised a brow before smirking.

"Oh look. It's the loser from the other day," he snickered, "Not surprised you're hanging around this guy-" he motioned to Chase "-But I guess it makes sense. The same flock flies together, or something like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bren growled, rolling his sleeve up. Chase was about to say something when his eyes caught sight of something moving in the shadows. He took a step towards it as Jinja pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Bren. We don't really have time for this," she sighed. Dax noticed her and Beyal, smirk not leaving his face as he gazed at the orange-haired girl.

"Well well. You got a girlfriend here glasses? Has you pretty whipped."

Both Bren and Jinja's faced grew red.

"We're not dating!" they both exclaimed. Both Dax and Spike started laughing to each other. Jinja let out a frustrated noise.

"Ugh! Why'd we have to run into these two creeps! Can we just... Chase?"

The raven-haired teen had walked off, now looking around the cave as he felt _something_ stir inside him. It was a difficult feeling to describe, but for some reason it was... Refreshing. And the more he stood there, it was getting stronger.

"... This is it," he muttered to himself, "Whatever is here. I'm sure it's a way to get back."

He heard footsteps, and glanced over to see Beyal also staring around. Only, there was something different about his stance. He had a distant look in his eyes, almost as if he was in intense thought. Chase reached out for his shoulder.

"Beyal-"

Someone cleared their throat. Chase froze, looking into the shadows in front of them. He could hear the others quiet down. Footsteps echoed through the cavern. Two figures outlines could be faintly seen.

" _Well well. Look who it is,"_ one voice said, " _Who knew it would take this long to find little Suno here."_

" _Our ability wasn't able to get him right where we wanted. But he was bound to come here,"_ the other said, stepping forward. Chase let out a gasp.

"It can't be," he muttered. The two men in white started to chuckle.

"What's wrong Suno? Have you not been having fun in the world that could've been?" The older man with grey hair asked.

"Oh Christoph. You know this world isn't suited for such an insolent child," the other man said, lips curling into a smirk. The small group took notice, stepping behind Chase.

"Who're they?" Bren asked.

"Not friends that's for sure," Chase whispered, then stood up straighter, "What're you two doing here? _How_ are you here?"

"A questioning thing aren't you?" Christoph sneered, "Not that it will matter once you're drained of your monsuno sight!"

Chase gulped a bit. He could hardly believe that Droog had shown up. But now the Hand of Destiny?! Despite all the burning questions running through his head, he was forced to push them back to try and focus on the problem at hand. That being how he had no monsuno.

But before he could even react, the two charged at him.

Someone let out a shout, and suddenly the lantern behind him shattered. The cavern became shrouded into darkness. Chase stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet as someone came close. He held his breath, hearing everyone's panicked voices.

"Dax?! Where'd you go?"

"Ow! Jinja that was my foot!"

"Chase? Chase where are you?!"

Slowly, Chase got back to his feet, unsure of where to go and what to do. There was no way to tell where the Hand of Destiny went, and that thought made him freeze. He tried to think of something to do while everyone shouted, but nothing came.

A light flashed in front of his eyes. Wincing, Chase blinked a few times before seeing that it was Beyal with his phone.

"Everyone! Come this way!" Chase exclaimed. There was a shout, and they turned around to see Alister holding onto Bren and Jinja.

"Bren! Jinja!" Chase exclaimed, taking a single step before the older man appeared in front of him. He let out a small gasp of surprise as the man seized the front of his shirt.

"I bet the monsuno essence is here. Isn't it?" Christoph said, leering down at Chase, "Good thing you decided to come snooping about. Makes things easier for us-"

Something went flying through the air. The old man ducked down just in time to dodge. Chase jerked back out of his grasp and stumbled back a few steps. He heard Alister grunt, and turned to see Bren trip somewhat as he ran towards Chase, Jinja delivering a swift kick to the man. In the faint light of Beyal's phone, Chase was able to see him, Bren, Jinja, and Dax and his friend finally group together.

"How do we get out of here?" Bren panicked.

"I thought you said this was your family's place? Shouldn't you know?" Dax hissed. Bren shot daggers at him, lips pursed shut in a frown.

"Not now Bren," Chase snapped, then looked around,"This way!"

He led the way as they ran through the tunnel. They had gone so far before that it was hard to tell if they were going further inside or if they were heading to the exit. All they could do was keep running, unable to tell if they were being followed. But with how quick that the Hand of Destiny were to trying to capture him, Chase knew they weren't far off.

Beyal abruptly came to a stop, Chase running into him. Chase gasped when he saw the large hole in the ground just a foot away. Unfortunately, everyone else failed to see it, nearly toppling over inside. Chase felt his feet slip as they all crashed together. His hand flew forward, grabbing onto the back of Bren's hoodie as someone grabbed his other hand. Chase gasped as he dangled in the air. He tried to stay steady as Bren let out a squeak, his hands immediately flying up to grab Chase's hand.

Chase let out a small breath of relief when he looked up to see both Jinja and Dax gripping onto his arm trying to pull him up.

"...Ngn... Jeez Chase. You and Bren both need to. Lay off the burgers!" Jinja grunted. Chase let himself be yanked up, not caring how rough the two were. He kept a hold of Bren, helping him back up. When the two of them were back on top, the small group continued to look down at the hole. Beyal's phone light was too faint to see down completely, so it could've easily been a long way down. Chase shuddered at the thought of dropping so far.

"Well? What do we do now?" Jinja asked, "Should we turn back around?"

" _I wouldn't. Little girl."_

The group quickly turned around to see the two men standing there, barely visible where they stood. Chase stood up, taking a step towards them. He wasn't sure what to do, all things considered. He didn't have his monsuno, but that also must've meant that they also didn't have any. But even if the two were outnumbered, Chase wasn't confident that they could win.

"What's wrong Suno? No remarks?" Christoph asked with a sneer. The two of them held two glowing green cores.

Immediately Chase froze with a small gasp. The others didn't know what they were, but he did! They were shapeshifter cores!

As the two started to chuckle, Chase realized the one flaw to their cores. He grinned, straightening up.

"Nice try. But you can't do anything without one of our monsuno out," he said, "Those shapeshifter cores are useless."

The two started to chuckle.

"Oh Suno. If only it were that easy," Alistair said, taking a step forward, "Besides, these aren't the cores you remember. In fact, you'll be surprised at how different they are! Unless of course, you want to come with us now and spare us the trouble of crushing you and your friends."

Chase growled, fists clenched. His mind was trying hard to figure out a way out of this, but without his monsuno (and everyone else's for that matter), there was nothing that he could do. He knew that the Hand of Destiny wouldn't bluff about something, especially considering everything they've done in the past. If anything, chancing them spinning out in the tunnel was too much of a gamble. And that wasn't a risk he could take.

"What is it that you want from Chase?" Bren asked, flinching under the two men's gazes.

"It should be obvious boy," Alister said, "Now. Don't make us drag you and the monk boy out of here Suno."

Chase blinked. Monk boy? Were they talking about Beyal? Chase turned to the other, who still had the same dull expression as before. He noticed Chase staring and raised a brow.

Did the Hand of Destiny not know that the rest of them weren't from Chase's world? Maybe he could use that to his advantage-

Suddenly, the ground started to shake again. The ceiling quaked, rocks and dust loosening and tossing in the air. They all nearly fell over as the shaking grew for a brief few seconds. Chase fell to his hands and knees.

"Best make your choice now Suno! Lest you and your friends fall into the abyss," Christoph said, holding the glowing green core out, "What will it be Suno?"

He froze, feeling the ground below shifting horribly. The sound of cracking under him made his breath catch in his throat.

" _What it'll be, is a fight."_

The Hand of Destiny quickly turned around. Footsteps started to approach. Someone's outline could be seen. Along with a red jacket.

Chase's eyes widened in awe.

"Six?"

HLP

 _"Over there!"_

 _"Where?"_

 _"There Bren! The only place Chase could've gone in."_

 _"Oh. Yeah! Right!"_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"Wait. Did you hear that?"_

 _"Hear what?"_

 _"... I don't think we're alone."_

 _"Oi! Who's there?"_

 _"..."_

 _"I think we ought to convince them to show themselves, considering we don't have the time to deal with them!"_

 _"Dax wait-"_

 _"Bioblaze, launch!"_

HLP

Chase's shoulders slumped in disbelief, his legs going numb. Somehow. For some reason. Six Klipse was standing there in front of him, staring down the Hand of Destiny.

He couldn't understand. Everyone so far that he had encountered was from this world, the exceptions being himself, Droog, and the Hand of Destiny. And now, it seemed Six as well.

Six held up a red core, aiming it towards the Hand of Destiny. The two men flinched, holding their up as well. Chase let out a small gasp.

"Wait! Don't-"

"Launch!"

The three cores spun out into the middle, clashing with a bright flash. The recoil made everyone gasp. Chase grit his teeth as he tried standing up against the energy.

Unfortunately, the ground couldn't hold up against it.

Before any of them could react, the floor crumbled to bits and they were left falling. Chase reached forward and grabbed a hold of the edge. He felt someone grabbing onto his ankles, nearly dragging him down. His hands flailed, blindly trying to grip onto something to anchor him enough to stop slipping. After a few second, he managed to wedge a few fingers into a crack. He tried to steady his breath, finding it hard.

Just a few feet away, he could see Six and the Hand of Destiny's monsuno now standing in the middle of the tunnel. There was no way they could battle here. Not with such little room. Chase bit his lip, eyes flitting around.

To his right, he could see Dax in a similar position, trying to climb back up. Looking down, Chase could see Bren gripping onto the lowlander's legs, the color drained from his face as he stared down the hole again. From the corner of his vision, Chase was able to tell that Jinja and Beyal were holding onto his.

"Chase! You have to do something!" Jinja shouted. Beyal let out a small gasp, the light from his phone suddenly disappearing. Chase's breath hitched, quickly looking down. He was somewhat relieved to see that the white-haired teen just dropped his phone, but now that they were all left in darkness, things were suddenly getting more dire.

"Demise, Jade Surge."

"Shifter Demise, Howling Fire!"

The tunnel started to quake as the monsuno started to battle. Chase nearly slipped, but somehow kept a hold.

"Jin. Beyal. You gotta climb up!" he called out, "I can't pull us all up like this! Hurry!"

He felt shifting, and heard Jinja struggling. She let out a gasp, and Chase was nearly pulled down.

"S-Sorry!" she said, "I can't get my footing!"

"Spike! You need to pull us up!" Dax shouted. Chase looked over, suddenly remembering the other teen that was with them. His eyes were trained on the monsuno fighting, completely frozen. His mouth was open, as if trying to say something. Obviously he had lost his voice at the sight of the monsuno appearing.

"Spike! Hey!"

One of the green monsuno pounced towards Demise. The red beast roared, slamming the other into the wall. The ground shook horribly, and Chase felt his grip slipping again as rocks started to crumble under him.

"Spike! Over here! C'mon!" Dax continued to call out, getting no response.

Gripping the rocks the best he could, Chase cast a glance down the hole. Faintly, he could see Beyal's phone at the bottom. He could only hope that it wasn't that far down, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hold all of them up for much longer.

He prayed that it wasn't that far down.

"Spike? Can you hear me?! Oi!"

"Demise, take them down," Six ordered. The monsuno grunted, then let out a roar as it raised its fists towards the two monsuno. The tunnel shook once again, this time, chunks of the ceiling falling all around them. The shaking didn't stop either.

"We can't leave! Not without Suno!" Christoph shouted, "Stay out of this clone! You need to learn your place!"

Six didn't respond, instead holding his core even tighter. Demise responded with another screech.

The noise eventually made Spike jerk out of his stupor. Without hesitating, he got to his feet and flew out of the tunnel screaming.

"Spike! Hold on!" Dax shouted, then tried to pull himself up. But with Bren holding on, there was no way that he could. And it was obvious that he wasn't going to kick Bren off.

"Dax! Let go!" Chase exclaimed.

"What? Are you out of your bleezin' mind?! No way am I doing that!"

A large chunk of the ceiling fell in front of them. Chase gasped, flinching when he felt rocks thrown into his face. His eyes widened even more when he saw one of the shifter monsuno coming closer, Demise now pinned down by the other.

"Let GO!"

The ground shook again. Whether he chose to or not, Dax slipped from the side, and he and Bren disappeared down into the darkness. Chase took one breath before he felt the rocks under his grasp finally crumble away as he fell down and away from the monsuno battle raging.

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks to ChasexJinjaForever, monsuno power, and 36-children-of-the-mind for the reviews! I'm thinking of just uploading the whole fic at once since I want this to be finished and move onto the other two fics I'm working on. So look forward to a couple chapters getting posted at once next time there's an update.

Enjoy!

* * *

"And you're sure there's nothing wrong with him?"

Jeredy shook his head, staring into the room. Chase was inside, pacing around for what must've been hours, a table and two chairs sitting inside with him. For almost three days he had been forced to look over his son and try to figure out what happened after their mission. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could come up with that made sense.

"Physically there's nothing wrong with him, other then some slight weight loss," the scientist said, turning to Bren and Jinja, "I really don't know what else to say other then to wait."

The two teens looked at each other before sighing deeply. Sitting around and doing nothing certainly was hard, but what else could they do? Chase hadn't exactly been helpful in figuring out what was wrong.

If anything, all he did was add to the mystery.

Chase came up to the window, tapping it with his hand. Jeredy glanced over to the two, "Looks like he wants to talk to you again."

Jinja huffed, crossing her arms tightly, "Like I want to talk to him after he got 'friendly'!"

Bren scratched his cheek, then went ahead into the room. Chase immediately went up to him, appearing to be shouting.

"What do you think happened between him and Droog?" Jinja asked, watching them interact. Chase threw his arms up and slumped into one of the seats by the table.

"Who knows. That last spike in monsuno energy was something I've never seen before," Jeredy said, then bit his thumb in thought, "All we can hope for is some clues to show up, given how we can't find Droog."

Jinja nodded, turning back to look inside. Even with all the technology at S.T.O.R.M., they had no clue of where Droog could possibly be.

That man was certainly a mystery. Jeredy wasn't sure why he had even been trying to look for monsuno essence, given how most concerns with monsuno had died down ever since the Hand of Destiny had fallen. Was this a sign of things to come?...

But what bothered him the most was how much Chase kept insisting things that weren't true, at least with monsuno. He knew his parents, Jinja, and Bren, but Beyal and Dax were complete strangers to him, along with the rest of S.T.O.R.M.. It was certainly not normal, given how he was able to remember things like Sophia's favorite food, or even what cartoon that he and Jeredy used to watch when he was younger.

But that wasn't all.

Chase had no recollection what monsuno were at all. And clearly, Locke felt the same.

Jeredy looked to the blue core in hand. He had warned Chase about spinning the monsuno before their mission, but there was no way to know if he had even _used_ it. The fact that he had forgotten all about monsuno was one of the few reasons why they needed to look for answers.

Moreover, Locke refused to even be held by Chase, turning red hot every time the teen tried to take it. That in itself was more than enough to try and figure out what was wrong.

The metal doors at the end of the hall opened. Jeredy and Jinja turned to see Dax and Beyal return. Jinja took a step towards the two.

"Well? Did you find anything?"

"Nope. Nothing. Just dirt and rocks as usual," Dax sighed, "C'mon doc. Surely you can get to the bottom of why little Suno's been acting so weird."

"I wish I could, but this is beyond my expertise," Jeredy said, shaking his head. By this point, Bren had sat down on the opposite side of the table, obviously trying to cheer up the other teen.

"What do you all think?" he asked, turning to the rest of them.

"He doesn't seem to believe us about monsuno, so him getting a vision is probably unlikely," Beyal said simply.

"And he refuses to go to the training bay to even see monsuno," Dax added, shrugging his shoulders, "I guess that scare he had when we were on the mission was a bit much."

Jinja sighed deeply, looking the other way, "Not even Alpha and the others can get a positive reaction from him..."

The doors to the hallway opened again, this time Commandant Marshall Jon Ace walking through.

"Ah. Jeredy. I knew I'd find you here," he said, "Still trying to find out what's wrong with Chase?"

Jeredy nodded, "It's all I can do for the moment. I'm working on upgrading Locke's core, but that's been put on hold until we can find out how to help my son."

"Of course doctor. Do what you need to," Jon Ace said, "In the mean time, I've received word from the lowlands that Dr. Klipse is on the move again. Or rather, his associates."

Jon turned to Team Core Tech.

"Even though I know you're all worried, I need you all to do some surveillance and find out if Klipse is back at his old base. They've been rather quiet, but intel says that Eklipse members have been spotted in the lowlands again. Now that they're on the move, I think its about time we finally take them down."

Team Core Tech nodded to each other. Jinja made the motion to tap on the glass before Jeredy stopped her.

"Hold on," he said, "Let Bren stay and keep Chase company. I'm sure a simple surveillance mission will go fine without him."

Jon raised a brow, but didn't protest. Dax snorted.

"Sure. _Now_ we're allowed to leave behind the deadweight," he said.

"For once, I gotta agree with you on that one," Jinja laughed as they trailed out to the exit, "Let's stop on the way there, since Bren won't be burning through my wallet-"

The doors shut behind them. Jeredy grinned briefly before looking back into the room. He frowned, unsure as he watched Bren try to play a game with Chase on the core tablet. For the first time in a long time, Chase actually started to visibly calm down.

Jon stood to his right, looking on as well.

"I'm guessing that none of you have been able to get him to remember anything," Jon said. Jeredy nodded.

"I just don't know Jon," the scientist mused, "I know it's him, but I can't shake this weird feeling that it... Isn't. Is that weird?"

Jon stared at Chase for a moment before turning to the other man, "Of course not. I trust your instinct more then anyone else's here. Besides. Who would know better that something was wrong then a child's parent?"

Jeredy sighed. He knew Jon would say that. But he was right in many ways. Perhaps Jeredy just needed to look at things from a different angle...

Jon turned and started to walk back to the door, "If you would excuse me. I have to oversee a new project."

The doors opened and closed once more. Jeredy stared at the window again, more so at his reflection. He could see dark circles formed under his eyes from late nights all week. But it hardly mattered.

Because he knew that Chase was more important then a few hours of sleep.

HLP

"I'm so glad we stopped on the way for lunch. Who knew we'd find a little stand on the way," Jinja said, leaning back in her seat as she steered the ship along back on course. Bags of trash were sitting on the floor next to her from their quick go through of the local town.

"I can't believe Beyal actually ate all those tortas," Dax said a bit exasperated, then glanced behind to the back seat. Beyal had promptly fallen asleep as soon as they were back on the cloud hopper, snoring away.

"Better him then Bren. He's always burning holes through my wallet whenever we go out to eat," Jinja said, lips drawn up in a scowl. Dax shook his head before staring ahead at the open skies before them. The ship quickly fell silent as it glided along.

"... So?" Dax asked after a while.

"'So' what?"

"What do you think about little Suno? What's wrong with him."

Jinja frowned, an annoyed look on her face, "I've got nothing to say about him! He probably just fell a little too hard or something..."

"You sure about that? Cause it doesn't sound like you're sure."

There was silence again. Jinja stared out the window, watching some of the trees and plains starting to turn into rougher terrain as they entered the lowlands.

"Look. We're all worried about him. Just admit it," Dax said, "We all really ought to be trying to figure this out together."

"Really? Teamwork? That's rich coming from you mister lone wolf," Jinja huffed, "Besides. If Chase's dad can't figure this out, what chance do we have?"

Dax scratched his cheek, "You got me there..."

That was the real root of the problem. _None_ of them had any clue of what to do. Chase's mind seemed to be completely jumbled up by fake memories, and forgot everything about monsuno from the past year. Of all memories he would forget, that was the last thing he would.

"... I'm sure that we'll figure this out."

Jinja and Dax both turned around, seeing Beyal staring at the ceiling.

"Things tend to fall into place. All according to destiny," he said, "This is just another challenge that we must face. Together."

Jinja scoffed, "Except we can do that without the necessary groping."

"We were all there princess. And all he was trying to do was get a kiss, I wouldn't call that groping," Dax shrugged. Jinja frowned at him, hunching over a little as she gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"You didn't seem happy at the time Dax," Beyal blurted out, "In fact. Weren't you wanting to show Chase a thing or two outside with your fists-"

Dax jerked in his seat, caught on his seatbelt as he tried to stand, "Hey! I told you to be quiet about that!"

Jinja stifled a laugh, listening to the two bicker for a moment. There was certainly something ironic about the situation, considering how much closer their little group seemed to be getting without Chase there. Even Bren, who was trying so hard to get a good reaction from their leader, was left to cling even more to the rest of them.

The red-haired girl loosened her grip, letting her shoulders sink in thought. As soon as the other two quieted, she took a deep breath.

"Let's... Just get through this mission and try to get back to Chase."

HLP

The rest of the ride was quiet. Although it wasn't very long. As soon as they passed into the lowlands, the outskirts of sanctuary city was in view. Jinja purposely parked the cloud hopper in the cliffside area to make sure they weren't spotted.

"Looks like we're here," she said.

The three of them piled out, making sure that the ship was well hidden before making the trek to the entrance of Klipse's base. Hopefully he would be there, otherwise this would be a waste of a trip.

However, when they got to where the trap door was, there was no real sign of where it could be. There wasn't even a sign if this base was still being used by Klipse (but it was a good place as any to start looking).

"I think Chase dropped down somewhere over here," Jinja said, crouching down to look at the ground. She brushed her hands against it, hoping that maybe she could feel metal.

"Nah. It was this way. I remember when I went there," Dax pointed towards the west, then paused to scratch his head, "I'm pretty sure it was... Or maybe it was the other way."

He started to walk off as Beyal and Jinja continued to search the small area.

"Well. We can't exactly walk blindly in the desert for very long. He's probably aware that we're already here," Jinja said aloud, examining the ground. There was a flash of metal in the corner of her eye. She glanced towards a set of boulders, seeing a tripwire amongst them. Cautiously, she crept over. Taking a hold of the steel cord, she gave it a slight tug.

The ground suddenly shook.

"Ahh!"

Jinja gaped, quickly turning around. Dax was standing far off in the distance, now running over. But no Beyal.

The red-haired girl looked down and saw a small, rectangular hole in the ground. She let go of the wire and ran over. She and Dax glanced into it, seeing nothing but darkness.

"Well. Looks like you found it," Dax said, "Hey! Monkfish-"

"Shh! Someone will hear you!" Jinja hissed. Dax shot her a look.

"And Beyal screaming won't? I'm pretty sure we already gave up the element of surprise."

She frowned, crouched down, and hopped inside. Dax went right after her.

Whatever entrance it was must've been a back door of some sort, since it was just a straight slide down a metal chute. All too fast they came to the bottom. Jinja flopped over with a small yelp, rolling out of the way as Dax crashed next to her.

There were lights along the walls, dimly illuminating the large room. Jinja glanced behind, seeing that they dropped down from a ventilation shaft.

"You alright princess?" Dax asked, rubbing his head.

"Yeah. Sure," she said, then looked around, "Looks like this place is still being used. At least we know the rumors were true... Beyal? Where'd you go?"

The two stood up, looking ahead at the empty hallway. They exchanged looks before slowly making their way through. The monk probably went this way, but there wasn't a real sign to be sure other then it being one way. They would just have to find him as fast as they could and get out (though going up that air duct wouldn't exactly be easy).

They ran fast, stopping only when they rounded the corners. Eventually they came to a split. Dax made a motion with his hand and they started going towards the right.

There was the sound of metal dropping and they promptly came to a halt. They started walking back immediately.

As soon as they turned the corner, Jinja bumped straight into someone. She gasped, seeing spiked up black hair.

"Wha-What are you little mouseys doing here?!" Dom Pyro shouted, hands flying to his belt. Jinja quickly stepped back before sweeping his legs from the floor. Dax shoved him back with a half-body slam. Neither of them bothered to finish the fight, running down the other hall.

"See ya crazy!" Dax said. Jinja spotted a doorway ahead of them, sliding through before slamming the button on the side after Dax. A metal door shut securely within seconds.

Dom Pyro pounded his fists on the metal, his shouts muffled. The two let out sighs of relief, turning around when they heard a noise.

"Oi! There you are!" Dax said. Beyal noticed the two, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh. Sorry," he apologized, "When I fell in I heard something and wanted to look around."

Jinja stared at the computer monitors in the room, raising a brow at all the data and graphs throughout.

"And what could you have possibly heard that was so interesting?" Dax asked, walking over. Beyal pointed at one of the screens. Dax let out a gasp.

"What? What is it?" Jinja said as she walked over next to the two. Her eyes widened, seeing data on Chase displayed, "What is..."

Looking closer, the data was all the basic information that most people had about Chase. Only there seemed to be additions of things that weren't accurate at all. Jinja thought for a moment, remembering what Chase had told her at one point in the interrogation room about how she, him, and Bren all went to a school run by Core Tech.

"What do you suppose this is?" Dax asked, tapping some of the keys.

"Who knows. But I do know we shouldn't touch it," Jinja hissed. He waved her away. A few more screens later and a map popped up. They all leaned closer, thinking that it was just a map of the planet with Eklipse plans, but it was the opposite. In fact, it wasn't even a map of _their_ planet.

"How did-"

 _"What are you three doing in here!"_

The group snapped up. On the other side of the room Hargrave was standing there, tray in hand balancing a single mug and some biscotti on it. He whipped out his core launcher, quickly setting the tray down.

The other door suddenly exploded into smoke and flames. The remains crumbled to the floor as Dom Pyro stepped through with a smirk.

"Heh! Didn't think the little mouseys were so clever!" he said.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Hargrave shouted, "The last thing I need is to be fixing your mistakes!"

Dom Pyro let out a cackle as he flipped his core in the air a few times, "My mistakes? I'm not the one who let the mouseys in! That was your job!"

Jinja looked around, spotting a few loose bars of metal on the floor. Carefully, she reached down and picked one up. As soon as she felt the weight in her hands, she turned around and took aim for he computer.

"Hey! Losers!" she exclaimed, "We're here to see Klipse! Let us through or your data is toast!"

Hargrave immediately flinched, while Dom Pyro laughed.

"What? You think a few numbers and shinys will keep me from feeding you all to my pretty pretty?" he said, then wound his arm back to launch, "Klipse won't care about that!"

"Except he would!" Hargrave spat, "And you're supposed to listen to me while Klipse is-"

The butler quickly silenced himself, fists clenched. Jinja raised the bar higher in the air in a silent challenge.

"You best let us speak to Klipse before she goes off on it," Dax said, "Cause once she does we're spinning out, then we're gone."

Hargrave grit his teeth, eventually placing his core back on its holster. He looked to the assassin.

"Guard the exit," he ordered, then started to walk back into the hall he had came from. The three teens paused briefly, then turned to each other.

"Well? What do you think? Should we trust him?" Jinja asked, already suspicious with how easy they reasoned with the lackeys. They all glanced over to Dom Pyro as he sneered at them, flashing his core.

"I think so. Spinning our monsuno out here is also unwise, given how little space there is," Beyal said.

"I think I'd rather take a chance with the butler then the freak on a leash," Dax grumbled, cramming his hands into his pockets as he side-eyed Dom Pyro. He didn't stop until they were out of the room.

It was a short, but awkward, walk through the hall into the next room. Jinja tried not to think about how they could be walking into a trap, but with no sign of Klipse (or even Six for that matter), there was no telling what awaited them.

When they reached the next room, nothing could've prepared them for what they saw.

Equipment and machines were half disassembled. Empty glass containers for monsuno essence laid on the ground. On one of the tables were a set of cores, though they were clearly not used either. Sparks were flashing from a welder in the middle of room by a set of desks. The one working there looked up when they all entered.

They flipped up the blast shield, earning gasps and shocked expressions from the group of teens.

"Ah! Hargrave you're back!" Klipse said, standing up. They all flinched when they saw him wearing simple work clothes (a _drastic_ change compared to his regular black and red outfit).

The man set down the tools in hand, walking over to meet them. It was only then did they realize how different he really looked.

If the plain white shirt and jeans weren't the first clue, then the shape of his facial hair certainly was. It was less sharp and threatening and more friendly. Not to mention how he lacked the dark and crazed look in his eyes. Did what ever affect Chase also get to Klipse?

(Maybe everyone was just slowly losing their minds)

"Oh! Another cup of coffee? You spoil me!" Klipse said, taking the mug in hand, "Thank you Hargrave. I enjoy the way you brew it. As fine as any coffee house on this side of the continent."

Hargrave's lips quirked into an awkward, but genuine, smile before he cleared his throat.

"Um. Sir. You have a few guests," he said, then motioned towards the three teens. Klipse glanced over, a confused look on his face.

"Oh? Children. Very well," he said, picking up the biscotti on the tray and stirring it in the cup, "What is it that you all need? Although I'm not sure how much help an inventor like me will be."

'I suppose that explains why Hargrave was so willing to let us speak to Klipse. He's not actually very sane right now. Or maybe he's just more sane,' Jinja thought. She took a step forward, "Then... What is it that you want?"

Klipse raised a brow, crunching on the chocolatey treat, "Me? I just want to create things. Make things for others to use and improve the lives of everyone. Especially those who are... Less fortunate."

Jinja nearly fell over in disbelief.

"Yeah right! Like we can believe a psycho like you!" Dax accused, "You're probably just planning on a new invention for monsuno essence, or your monsuno army!"

Klipse blinked a few times, then drank from the mug, "Monsuno? Monsuno army? What even is that?"

The man set everything back down on the tray and walked over to the tables he was working at. He picked up a small device and went back to the group of teens. He held it out for them all to see.

"What I'm working on right now is a water filter," he said, "I couldn't help but notice how the next town over isn't as populated or busy as it could be, probably because of the climate. With this any source of water can become potable and useable, especially considering how strained some of the sources are here."

Jinja stared for a brief moment, exchanging a look with an equally confused Beyal as the two of them watched Dax pick up the metal. He was suspicious of it, but didn't say anything.

"I suppose you're all not here to talk about any of that though," he said, "You're probably wondering why I'm acting this way."

The group gave him blank stares. He let out a sigh.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning, since a wordy explanation is probably what you're all looking for," he said, "Well. My name is Emmanuel Klipse. Inventor and CEO of Eklipse Enterprises. I live in central city, and work alongside my dear friends Jon Ace and Jeredy Suno."

He paused when none of them said anything, "Well. Whether you believe me or not it doesn't matter. I'll let you all decide then continue from there."

Klipse walked back over to the desk and started to go back to work. Hargrave shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

"Um Sir," he stammered, "Should I escort them out?"

"No. I think they probably have questions to ask," Klipse responded, "I did take me awhile to convince you and Mr. Pyro."

Hargrave tapped his hands at his side in a nervous manner, eventually deciding to leave the room. As soon as he was gone, the group of teens huddled together.

"This is getting too weird," Dax sighed, "First Chase. Now Klipse? What's the world coming too?!"

"What bothers me is what he said," Beyal muttered, staring at the floor in thought, "There's no central city around here. And Chase isn't from there."

"And neither is Core Tech," Jinja said, remembering all the separate locations that Core Tech had, "But... He seems to be telling what he thinks is the truth."

Dax raised a brow, "What do you mean 'what he thinks'?"

"Remember how Chase has been saying things over and over, insisting things that aren't true but passing lie detectors and tests without any flaws? It makes perfect sense that whatever is affecting him is also affecting Klipse," Jinja said, I guess we'll just have to ask and hope he tells the truth-"

She looked up, then saw Dax staring off towards where Klipse was. She quickly looked over, seeing Beyal now poking and prodding at the different machines. The two sighed deeply, quickly making their way over.

"-and what about that map in the other room?" Beyal asked Klipse, "I don't remember seeing a central city anywhere."

"It's the capital of this region. It's extremely large, having to be sectioned off into multiple districts," Klipse said without skipping a beat, still working away at the small device in front of him, "Though I'm surprised that Bekka never told you, seeing how many times she's toured the area."

Beyal paused, now staring at the man.

"Bekka? What does she have to do with this?"

Klipse stopped, lifting the blast shield from his face again, "Fascinating. So it wasn't just Hargrave who's life is different... I probably should've known by now after being in this world for three days."

There was a silence that echoed through the room. None of them said anything for a minute.

"... What do you mean 'this world'?" Jinja asked. The man sighed deeply, setting down the tools for the second time.

"Just as I suspected," Klipse said under his breath, then turned to the group, "I'm probably not the Klipse that you remember, though I hoped that you did since you were all silent. No. I believe that I'm from a different version of this world."

He paused, glancing at Beyal for a moment, "At least I think it's a different version, seeing how there are many similar faces."

"Hold it! Hold it!" Dax said, "Do you really expect us to believe that you come from some other world? How do we know you're not faking it?"

Klipse shrugged, "You can't. Not really. But I'm a very honest man. If you would like, I can give you the data that I compiled from my world."

The group exchanged glances, each unsure and questionable.

"What would compel you to just hand over such vital information?" Jinja asked, a hand on her hip, still unsure about any of it.

"It's not very vital information at all. Just basics on everyday things. Besides, surely there's _some_ reason as to why you would even consider my offer," Klipse said, grabbing his tools again. He stared straight into her eyes, Jinja shuddering at the knowing look.

"Take it back to Jeredy Suno. I heard he's a great scientist in this world," Klipse said as he went back to work, "I'm sure he'll be able to help you. His son is quite the genius himself."

* * *

A/N: Review Review Review!


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